The Dead Promise
by iSnowX3
Summary: Ikuto promised Amu that he would never abandon her. That promise is put to the test when Amu disappears. Ikuto meets Yori, a girl that looks exactly like Amu. Ikuto then finds out about the truth about Yori, and Amu is pulled back into the story...AMUTO
1. Prologue

New story :O for those of you who read 'My Story', it's being silently discontinued. I'm not going to put up a new chapter or some big announcement about it, since it's going to be a waste of time and effort to type up a whole word document saying 'I quit''

I don't own Shugo Chara!, but this time I do own part of the storyline. I found this story somewhere else to use, but it was just a very basic plot line, so I made up everything between it myself.

AGES. Ikuto is currently 11 and Amu is 9.

____________________________________________________________

_Have you ever been betrayed? Do you know how it feels like?_

*****

Ikuto and Amu sat next to each other on the roof of the apartment building Ikuto's family owned, watching the sunset. They did this everyday since the day Amu could remember. They watched the sun slowly set, and the night's blackness slowly consuming the bright orange sky. Ikuto lay down on the roof and stared at the stars. Amu lay down next to him and did the same thing, though she didn't really understand why. Ikuto was her role model, she did everything he did in hopes of being as good as him. The two of them just lay there, silent, enjoying the night sky.

"Ikuto..."

Amu said after a long silence. Ikuto turned his head to look at her.

"What will you do when I'm gone...?"  
She asked him. Her parents were constantly telling her to be careful because she might get lost, and she was wondering what Ikuto would do if one day she really did get lost. Ikuto propped himself up on one elbow and thought for a moment.

"I think... that I would go and look for you. No matter how long it takes, I'll look for you and I _will_ find you."

He said confidently. Amu smiled and sat up.

"Promise?"  
She asked him. He nodded.

"Promise."

He said.

"Amu-chan! Ikuto-san! Come back down now!"  
They heard their mom's call them. Ikuto and Amu got up and ran back to their parents.

*****

While Amu's mom was walking Amu back to their apartment room, she noticed that Amu was happy today. Strangely, a little more happy than usual, though, she decided not to ask any questions.

_I knew that Ikuto-san would be a good influence for Amu-chan..._

~One Week Later~

Amu was helping her mom in the kitchen when all of a sudden they heard a knock on the door. Amu's mom opened it and saw Ikuto standing there.

"Hinamori-san, can Amu-chan come out and play hide and seek with us?"  
He asked politely. Amu's mom gave her approval and Amu followed Ikuto out to the lobby on the ground floor of the apartment complex. When they arrived, Amu saw Tadase, Yaya, Nagihiko, Rima, Kairi, Kukai, and Ikuto's little sister, Utau, already waiting for them.

"OK, so everyone's here. These are the rules. You can hide anywhere, but you have to stay in this apartment building."  
Utau said. Everyone nodded.

"I'll seek first"  
Ikuto volunteered. He faced the wall and began to count to 50. Everyone else ran off to find their hiding spots. Amu ran up the many flights of stairs until she reached the third of the four floors of the building. Then, instead of continuing up to the fourth floor, she ran down the hallway and into an empty room at the end of the hallway. No one ever used this empty room, so Ikuto and Amu used it to hold all their playthings. In one corner of the room was a big wooden chest. Amu opened the chest, and dumped all the contents inside it onto the ground. Then, she crawled in and quietly closed the lid on top of her.

*****

"48...49...50!"

Ikuto finished counting and turned around. He smiled and ran around the apartment building, trying to look for everyone. 10 minutes later, he had found Tadase, Yaya, Nagihiko, Rima, and Kukai.

_They have such predictable hiding places..._ he thought to himself._ Now to find Utau and Amu..._

Ikuto felt himself blush slightly as he thought of Amu. He walked up a couple flights of stairs and continued looking. All of a sudden, he heard a piercing beeping. It was the fire alarm. Ikuto turned around and saw two firefighters run up to him. One of them grabbed him and carried him back down and outside the building.

"Wait!" he screamed. "I still have to find Amu and Utau!"

"We found a whole bunch of kids around the building," the firefighter said calmly. "They're all waiting outside. I bet that Amu and Utau are with them."

Soon, Ikuto and the firefighter managed to get out of the building. He saw his parents, Utau, and everyone except Amu run up to him and hug him. After being released from the hug, Ikuto scanned the crowd of people, looking for a flash of pink. Since Amu was probably the only person in the world with pink hair, any pink that stands out in the sea of brown and black haired-people should be Amu. However, there was none.

_Where could she be...?_

******

Amu was woken up from her nap by the smell of smoke.

_Is something on fire...?_

She tried to push on the lid of the chest to get out and see, but the chest wouldn't open. Then, Amu remembered that she had forgotten to keep the chest unlocked before shutting herself in it. She was trapped. The smoky smell was making her dizzy and she felt herself losing consciousness.

_It's ok... Ikuto will come find me. He promised. He said that he would find me if I was ever gone. He said that he would do whatever it takes. I believe in you Ikuto, but if you're going to find me, do it quickly..._

*****

"What are you talking about!? LET ME GO BACK IN!"

"Kid, I'm sorry. But it's too dangerous for you to go in."

"DAD. TELL THEM TO LET ME BACK IN THERE."  
Ikuto begged his dad. Ikuto was struggling the grasp of 2 firemen, both whom were trying to hold Ikuto back from going into the burning building.

"Why should I? It's not like I want my son to be burned to death."

"But I have to go back and find-"

"You don't need to find anything. Even though our apartment building, our source of money, burned down, we still have a lot of money in the bank. We can buy you back everything you want."

Ikuto's dad said calmly. Ikuto felt tears forming behind his eyes.

"Money can't buy back my best friend can it!?"  
He demanded, but his dad wasn't listening anymore.

"AMU-CHAN."  
He screamed out in one last desperate attempt to see her come out. But he had no such luck. He was stuck with everyone else who escaped being burned by the flames, watching his home and his best friend slowly become engulfed in flames.

****

Ikuto... I waited... but it's too late now....

_________________________________________________---

review? This is the first story that I didn't really have much of anything to base it off of, so this is probably my worst story ever T_T Oh well, review please... and uh... tell me if there's anything I can improve in...since this story sucks ass.


	2. The New Student

Thanks to eapl, amuto20174, rosiepengi, xylophic, amutoforever15, shadowedblossom, and hime cullen tsukiyomi for reviewing this crap-excuse for a story =D

______________________________________________________________________

Six Years after the Fire... (Ikuto's now 17)

"That'll be 30 dollars, please." The store clerk said to Ikuto, handing him a bouquet of white roses. Ikuto paid, thanked the store clerk, and let with the flowers.

As for Amu, her body was never found. Since no one could find it, they assumed she either managed to get away or she was burned along with everything else. A missing body didn't stop Ikuto from still caring about her, though. After the fire, his dad had promised that he could get whatever he wanted. So, Ikuto had a memorial built for her. It wasn't anything big, not much bigger than your average tombstone, but Ikuto made himself go there personally once a month to go get new flowers and drop them off.

On this particular day, Kukai decided to go with Ikuto to the memorial. He watched as Ikuto dropped the flowers on the ground in front of the memorial and just stare at them.

"It's been six years. And I _still _haven't found you..." Kukai heard him murmur to no one in particular. Finally, Kukai couldn't stand it. He walked up to Ikuto and slapped him in the face.

"Amu doesn't exist anymore, so you can stop acting like this. Ever since she disappeared you've been acting like you don't care about anything else in this world. Almost as if there was no more reason to live." He said harshly. "Just forget about her! Everything that happened six years ago is all over now."

Ikuto stared at Kukai, shocked by his sudden outburst.

"It's not like that." Ikuto whispered. "If I could, I would've been back to my normal self ages ago. But I can't seem to forget about her."

"Well then, why don't you just find someone else to love so that you can replace her?" Kukai asked. Ikuto glared at him.

"It's not that simple." Ikuto said coldly. "She was my first love. She'll probably be my one and only love, too. I can't find anyone that could replace her, and even if I could, I wouldn't want her replaced."

With that, Ikuto left Kukai, and went back to his home.

*****

Ikuto walked into his house. Well, it wasn't exactly his, but his parents were never home to say it's theirs, so Ikuto thinks of it as his. Ever since the fire, business went down for his dad. Many people were reluctant to stay in any other apartments owned by the Tsukiyomi family, since they were scare that their homes would burn down also. Thus, Ikuto's dad tried a different type of business. He tried the music business, to be exact. Now, Ikuto's the heir of Easter, the biggest entertainment company in all of Japan. So, his dad's always away doing some crap for Easter, and his mom is, well, Ikuto didn't really care.

Ikuto flopped onto his bed and just lay there.

_Amu-chan... I miss you. And trust me, you'll never be replaced..._

*****

The next day, Ikuto slowly walked to school. Due to his slow walking speed, he barely managed to make it to school on time. As soon as the bell rang, Ikuto's teacher, Nikaidou-sensei, walked into the classroom.

"Now, let us welcome a girl that just came back to Japan after spending 6 years in America!" Nikaidou announced. "Everyone meet Ly Yori, the new student of our class!"

For once, Ikuto was actually paying attention in class, since it's not everyday that you get a new student from the U.S. in your class. The first thing that Ikuto noticed about Yori was her hair. It was pink. _Bright _pink. In fact, it was the exact same shade of pink as Amu's.

"Ly-san, you can go sit in the empty seat by Tsukiyomi-san," Nikaidou said to Yori. Yori nodded politely and sat next to Ikuto. Ikuto couldn't help but stare at her, pain in his eyes.

_Is Nikaidou trying to kill me!? Putting a girl who could pass as Amu's long lost twin right next to me. Nikaidou-sensei is a friend of our family's. He knows all about Amu. And, yet, he does _this_ to me! I mean seriously, her hair is pink, like Amu's, her eyes are that irresistible honey color, just iike Amu's... _

"Ikuto-san? Ikuto-san.. are you ok?" Yori asked, concerned. Ikuto had been staring at her for a whole 10 minutes, and he hasn't blinked once the whole time. Ikuto snapped out of trance and looked away.

"I'm fine, thanks." Ikuto muttered, staring down at the table. Once he was sure that Yori wasn't watching him anymore, he turned his head slightly to take a quick peek at her. He noticed that she was blushing, turning her pale cheeks a slight shade of pink. Ikuto groaned inwardly.

_She even BLUSHES like Amu! This is going to be one lloonngg year..._

*****

After school, Yori approached Ikuto again.

"U-uh... Ikuto...?" Yori asked, beginning to blush again. Ikuto tried not to notice. "U-um.. I was won-wondering if uh... we could be friends...?"

Ikuto stared at Yori.

_Did she just ask me that? Even worse, she asked me the same way Amu asked me all those years ago... this is going to kill me sooner or later... but how do I reply...? If I say yes, then I'm going to have to see her more often, therefore thinking of Amu even more than I do normally. If I say no, she's probably going to ask me why, and I can't exactly tell her about Amu, can I?_

Ikuto was still deep in his thoughts, and Yori was looking at him expectantly. All of a sudden, Kukai's words rang in Ikuto's head.

"_Well then, why don't you just find someone else to love so that you can replace her?"... Yori DOES look a lot like Amu... it should be easier to use Yori as a replacement than anyone else... yeah I think I'll tell her yes._

"Yeah," Ikuto finally said. "We can be friends."  
Yori's face looked heartbroken, but only for less than a second. The sad face was quickly replaced by a bright, smiling face.

"Ok, then!" Yori said happily. "See you tomorrow, Ikuto-kun!"  
Yori walked off, thinking to herself.

_I did it! After six years of 'living' in America, I can finally be friends with Ikuto-kun again... but why does it hurt so much... it's almost as if he doesn't remember me... maybe it's because he's been told that I died six years ago... which I'm not saying is a lie..._

_______________________________________________________-

I honestly don't like this chapter T_T this is what I get for attempting to write a chapter while baby-sitting my cousin who has those stupid playhouse Disney shows playing the whole morning. My head hurts like heck now... oh well. Review please =D and tell me how I can do better... because I think there's lots of ways I can improve this chapter... I'm just not exactly sure what they are.


	3. Second Love

Thank you amutoforever15, sylvanicara, amuto20174, shadowedblossom, lithiumtiger19, hime cullen tsukiyomi, xylophyic, and rosiepengi for reviewing =3

Sorry... this would've come out earlier... but my dad was working from home today... and I can't exactly write this if he's going to look over my shoulder every time he passes by and asks me what I'm doing... and also I'm just plain lazy today. I feel motivation-less.

I WOULD say this story is still crap... but apparently from the reviews I shouldn't say that anymore. I've 'had' a gun pointed at me, a cookie, and a death threat for calling it crap T_T

____________________________________________________________

Ikuto was sitting in his room when his phone rang.

"Hello?" He asked.

"Ikuto-kun...? It's Yori." The person on the other line.

"Yori-chan! Did you need something?" Ikuto asked.

"...Well... do you think you can come to the park... there's something I need to tell you..." Yori said slowly.

"Well..sure." Ikuto replied, confused. The two of them hung up, and Ikuto got out of the house and walked to the park.

*****  
Ikuto arrived at the park 10 minutes later and saw Yori sitting on a bench. As soon as Yori saw him, she waved him over.

"So, Yori.. what did you want to tell me?" Ikuto asked once he was sitting next to her on the bench. Yori began to blush.

"I...welll..." She began quietly. "I-I have always liked you, Ikuto-kun. I fell in l-love with you the first time we met."

Ikuto stared at her in shock.

"So... um..." Yori continued. 'Please...let me be your girlfriend!"

Ikuto was shocked beyond words. After a couple seconds of silence, Yori turned to stare at the ground and began to blush even more.

"Gomen..." She said quietly. "I don't think that's something I should be as-"

"Sure." Ikuto said, interrupting her.

"Huh....?" Yori asked.

"I mean, sure. You can be my girlfriend." He said. Yori's face lit up.

"Really!?" She asked, disbelievingly. Ikuto smiled and nodded. Yori felt beyond happy.

_You said yes... I get to be your girlfriend... but I have to be someone that I really am not... doesn't matter... I'll make sure you find out sooner or later..._

"So... Yori-chan... what do you want to do now?" Ikuto asked. Yori shrugged. She was too deep in her thoughts of happiness to really answer any question properly. Once she regained control of her brain she suggested something.

"Hey... Ikuto... do you play any musical instruments?" She asked, trying her best to sound like she didn't know.

_Well DUH. He's been playing the violin since forever. But he didn't know me as Yori until... like... last week... so I can't let him know that I know he can play the violin..._

"Yeah. I play the violin." He said, obviously. Yori tried to look curious.

"Really? Do you think you can play me something?" She asked sweetly. Ikuto smiled and nodded.

"Sure... but I need to go get my violin. It's at home right now." Ikuto said. "You want to come with me?"

Yori nodded, and the two of them headed to Ikuto's house.

*****

One thing Ikuto did NOT expect to happen was his mom being home when he brought Yori in. Mrs. Tsukiyomi noticed the two of them come in, and she had shocked expression on her face. She thought that Yori was Amu, just like Ikuto did the first time he saw her.

"Amu-chan!" She said shocked. Yori looked at her weirdly.

"Who's Amu-chan?" She asked, pretending to be curious.

"Oh, it's no one," Ikuto said, brushing the whole thing off. Yori looked hurt for a quick second.

_I'm a no one...? So Ikuto really did replace me with Yori... huh..._

"Come on," Ikuto said. "My room's this way."

The two of them headed up the stairs and into Ikuto's room. Ikuto walked to his desk and pulled a violin case out from under there. He headed for the door and motioned for Yori to follow him. However, instead of leaving through the front door like they came in, Ikuto led Yori to the garage, where there was a sleek black car.

"Get in," Ikuto said as he opened the door to the driver's seat and got in. Yori walked around to the passenger side and sat in the car.

"Why are we taking the car?" Yori asked.

"Because the place I want to go to is on the other side of town," Ikuto explained. "And I really don't feel like walking for half an hour. Besides, if we did walk, it would already be time to go back by the time we go there."

"Ah..." Yori said quietly, showing that she understood. Ikuto was concentrating on the road while Yori was staring out the passenger window, not really focused on anything in particular. After 10 minutes of driving, they finally reached the place Ikuto wanted. It was a park. There weren't many people hanging around, Ikuto and Yori would occasionally see a couple of children chasing each other around. Other than that, Yori thought that the park was beautiful. There was a small courtyard surrounded by trees. In the middle of the courtyard was a small fountain, and beyond that there was a platform. Ikuto walked up the platform, took out his violin, and began playing a song.

Yori thought it was the most beautiful song that she ever heard. After the song ended, Ikuto looked at Yori.

"So now you know that I can play the violin," he said. "Can you play any type of musical instrument?"  
Yori shook her head.

"I can sing though," she said.

"Well then, can you sing me something?" Ikuto asked. Yori blushed but closed her eyes and began to sing.

_The wind is shaking the windows and over my small room..._

_The stars fill the sky, shining brightly, with too many to count._

_They try to reassure me_

_They wipe away the tears that are deep inside me..._

_Don't be hurt too much... they hug me tight and pamper me_

_And comfort me, telling me to go to sleep._

_Even though I'm exhausted to the point where I can't walk..._

_Though tears blur my vision_

_Even if I am not able to receive that love, I still will smile..._

_Even though our moments of happiness were short, I will still treasure them forever in my heart_

_Like those countless number of stars... forever._

_My dream is bright... though it is unusual for my one star to shine brightly_

_It is very bright, even blinding... it comes down to my shoulder._

"_Stop being so sad" it holds my hand as it touches me_

_and gives me a warm hug_

_Even though I'm exhausted to the point where I can't walk..._

_Though tears blur my vision_

_Even if I am not able to receive that love, I still will smile..._

_Even though our moments of happiness were short, I will still treasure them forever in my heart_

_Like those countless number of stars... forever._

_Only for today, I won't cry even though my eyes are filled with tears...  
I want to laugh... just like those stars. _

_Oohh... I want to cherish all my happy moments deep inside my heart._

_Just like those countless number of stars... forever._

_[Byul (Star) by Yumi]_

Yori didn't notice that while she was singing many people came crowding around her to hear her sing. They all left after she as finished with the song. After they were all gone, Yori turned back to Ikuto, who looked shocked.

"How'd you like it?" Yori asked.

"It was beautiful," Ikuto said, trying to smile.

_Isn't that... the song... that I wrote for Amu to sing all those years ago...? Maybe Yori IS Amu...? Nah... I must be making assumptions again... she might have known one of my other childhood friends who heard the song. Maybe she got it from them..._

Ikuto looked up, and noticed that the sun had set and the moon was high in the sky.

"We should get going now," he said. "Do you want me to drop you off at your house?"

Yori nodded, and the two of them get back into the car.

*****

"Stop here." Yori said.

Ikuto pulled the car to a stop in front of a small blue house, just like Yori instructed.

"Bye, Ikuto-kun," Yori said, kissing him on the cheek before getting out of the car and heading back into her house. After she was gone, Ikuto touched the place where Yori kissed him. His fingertips lingered there for a minute, and then he drove home.

*****

The next day at school, Kukai was waiting for Ikuto outside the school building. As soon as he saw Ikuto coming, Kukai ran up to him.

"About Yori," Kukai said. "I heard about how she's your girlfriend now. But, is the only reason you accepted her confession because she looks like your first love? You're not really in love with her, are you?"

Ikuto thought for a moment.

_Why DO I love Yori? The first thing that comes to mind whenever I think of her is Amu... everything she says and does reminds me of Amu... I've never really thought about it before, but I think Kukai's right..._

Ikuto sighed.

"You're right," He said. "I'm the worst guy..."

Kukai put a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry," Kukai said reassuringly. "You'll figure it out sooner or later."

At that moment, Ikuto and Kukai saw Yori running up to them.

"I-Ikuto-kun.." Yori said. "Are you busy this weekend?"  
Ikuto shook his head.

"Do you think you can come with me to the park...?" She asked shyly.

"Sure," Ikuto replied. Yori smiled.

"Great!" She said. "Pick me up at 7 on Saturday, ok?"

Ikuto nodded, and Yori left. As soon as her back was facing Ikuto, her happy mask turned into a face full of pain.

"Yori-chan..." Ikuto heard Yori whisper. "How can you and Ikuto-kun be happy... when I'm not?"

"What did you say?" Ikuto asked her. Yori immediately put on her smiling face again as she turned around to face him.

"Oh, it was nothing," She said, brushing it off. Ikuto didn't look convinced, but he let it pass.

__________________________________________________________________________

care to review? Tell me how I can improve this story please :O that byul song was originally in Korean, I just put in the English translation as the lyrics


	4. Strange Acts

Thank you Hime Cullen Tsukiyomi, RosiePengi, ShadowedBlossom, sylvanicara, Xylophic, LithiumTiger19, and BlueAmuto for reviewing :O it means a lot to me.

Anyways... I watched ep 79 last night... and I couldn't help but think that the fact that Satelight decided to give the Death Rebel a whole Chara-Nari scene thing was pretty sexy... despite the fact that it's hurting Ikuto T_T I couldn't help but think it was hot....

And err... sorry for not writing yesterday... when u have to go to a funeral and while you're at that funeral you get a call saying that someone else you know also died.. you're not really in the mood for writing... so here I am at 1 in the morning, unable to sleep, so I wrote this.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Ikuto knocked on the door of Yori's house. Who would've thought that a week would pass by so quickly, and it was already time for another date with Yori? The door opened, and there stood a woman who Ikuto took to be Yori's mom.

"Are you Yori's mom?" He asked politely.

"Yes, but you can just call me Ly-san," she said, nodding.

_So her last name's Ly..._Ikuto thought. _I never thought of asking her what her last name was... I never really cared before... Ly Yori... that's a nice name._

"So you're here to get Yori, I assume," Ly-san said. Ikuto nodded, and Ly-san led the way to Yori's room. The door was closed. Before opening it, Ly-san turned to Ikuto.

"Ikuto-san," she said. "Yori's been acting really strange lately? Have you noticed it?"

Confusion flashed across Ikuto's face.

_Strange...? Whenever I see her, she just acts like Amu. Does she not normally act like that or something...?_

Ly-san shrugged.

"Maybe I'm just being paranoid," she said, and then left Ikuto to stand there alone in front of the door. Ikuto reached out to turn the door handle when a voice from inside stopped him.

"You know, I hate it when you do this to me," the voice said. Ikuto was confused.

_What did I do...?_

"No, I don't care. You DIED six years ago. It's not being fair to me when you do this. Just go off to your little ghost heaven or something."

Ikuto just stood there, his confusion building up by the second.

_Is this what Ly-san meant by acting strange?_

Ikuto opened to door.

"NO. It's not a matter of whether he knows or n- IKUTO! Hi!"  
She cut off what she was saying mid-sentence when she heard Ikuto coming into the room.

"Who where you talking to earlier?" Ikuto asked. Yori chuckled nervously.

"Oh... um... I was u-uh... rehearsing for a play! Yeah, I was rehearsing for the school play," she said. Ikuto raised an eyebrow at her.

"But our school play doesn't hold auditions for another two months," he pointed out. "And besides, the play was supposed to be a remake of Romeo and Juliet, remember? Not about someone dying six years ago and a ghost..."

_Amu died six years ago..._

Yori shrugged and laughed nervously again.

"Guess I was practicing for the wrong play then," she said quickly. "Because the one at my school in America was about a ghost!"

For some reason, Ikuto didn't believe her, but he didn't ask anymore questions.

"So where do you want to go today?" He asked her. Yori shrugged.

"I don't know... I sort of want to go to the park again..." She said. Ikuto nodded, and the two of them went back to the park.

*****

The two of them sat at a bench, an awkward silence falling between them. Yori suddenly stood up.

"I have to go the bathroom," she said. Ikuto also stood up.

"I'll go get us something to drink," he said. The two of them went their own way. After buying the drinks, Ikuto walked back to the bench he and Yori were sitting at. Yori wasn't back yet. Ikuto sat down and just waited for her.

_I remember how Amu and I used to come play at this park a lot... the same thing would happen with us. There would be that uncomfortable moment where neither of us could think of anything. Then, we'd both jump up. Amu would go to the bathroom and I would go get her something to drink... Amu... I really miss you... even Yori's nothing compared to you..._

Ikuto's thoughts were interrupted when he saw group of people all running the same direction. Curious, Ikuto followed him. He was led to a giant group of people surrounding one of Easter's headquarters. Ikuto tapped a man standing in front of him on the shoulder.

"What's going on?" He asked. The man pointed to the top of the building.

"There's a girl standing right on the edge of the building! Someone go stop her before she does something stupid!" He said frantically. Ikuto took a closer look at the girl standing on top of his dad's building. The first thing that caught his attention was her hair. It was a bright, extremely noticeable shade of pink.

_Yori..._

Ikuto panicked and ran into the building. He ran up all the flights of stairs and burst open the door that led to the rooftop. There, he saw Yori standing on the edge. Ikuto ran up to her and grabbed her arm.

"Yori what in the name of hell are you doing? You might fall off the edge!" He said. Yori slipped her arm out of his grasp.

"Sorry, Ikuto-kun," She said in a detached voice. "But she deserved this."  
She smiled at him. It was a sad, distant smile. Then she turned around and jumped.

Ikuto could hear the screams of the people who were standing below. Luckily, someone predicted that this would happen, and called an ambulance earlier. It arrived just as Yori hit the ground. She was rushed to the hospital.

*****

Ikuto ran home and jumped into his car. He sped to the hospital, and arrived just as the doctors were unloading Yori from the ambulance. The loaded her onto a stretcher and pushed her into the emergency room. Ikuto followed them in, since no one was really stopping him from following.

"Sir, I'm sorry, but you're going to have to go wait outside for a bit," the doctor said apologetically. "It turns out her wounds were pretty severe, so we're going to need some time and space."

Ikuto nodded and went out to sit outside in the waiting room.

(NOTE. This might be inaccurate info. Despite the fact that I have 3 surgeons and 2 doctors and a professor that teaches in Stanford about medicine for cousins, I know absolutely NOTHING about doctors/medicine, so gomen if this part is all screwed up)

*****imagine that a couple of hours had passed

The doctors came out of Yori's room, just to find out that Ikuto was still sitting there. He was slightly dozing off, but as soon as he heard the door open and the doctors come out, he was wide awake again.

"You're girlfriend's going to be fine," the doctor said. "But, obviously, when she hit the ground, she lost consciousness. She should have woken up a while ago, and now she's in a coma. We can't seem to figure out what's wrong, so we'll just have to wait and see. Oh, and you're going to have to leave for the night."

Ikuto was shocked beyond words. First he had to loose Amu, and Yori next. But, he agreed to go for the night and made a promise to himself to come back as soon as he can.

*****

Ikuto drove his car back into the garage, and walked back into the house. There was note taped on the door.

_Ikuto_

_Your dad has a business meeting in France, and I decided to go with him since there are some relatives of mine that I want to visit who live in France. We should come back around something next week. There's food in the fridge and some money on the counter incase you need anything else._

_~Mom_

Ikuto sighed, then crumpled the note and threw it into the garbage. He dragged himself to the living room, hoping that watching some TV would take his mind off of Yori for a little bit. He was about to sit down on the couch when he saw something that shocked him. Sitting on his couch was a girl. Well, not a girl exactly. She was translucent, like a ghost. Her hair was bright pink with a black X-clip holding up a section of her hair. The girl was also wearing a Seiyo Elementary School uniform, the exact same outfit Amu was wearing the day she disappeared from Ikuto's life. Her eyes were also the same color as Yori's, a bright honey color. As soon as the girl was sure that Ikuto saw her, she stood up from her seat on his couch.

"Ikuto," she said coldly, glaring at him with those piercing golden eyes. Ikuto stared at her, all words and coherent thoughts knocked out of him.

"A-Amu!?" He stuttered.

__________________________________________________________________

Don't forget to review~ it means a lot to me.


	5. The Ghost Within

Thank you LithiumTiger19, xxxUtauloverxxx, AmutoForever15, ShadowedBlossom, , and sylvanicara for reviewing =D

*Gets off of lazy ass to write next chapter* and err... sorry if everyone's a bit O.O.C in this chapter :\ I wanted to have some fun writing this chapter... and normal amu and ikuto was going to ruin my fun

___________________________________________________________________________________

Amu shook her head impatiently.

"Technically it's Amu's _ghost_," she corrected. "But you were close enough."  
Ikuto stared, still unable to think clearly.

"What are you doing here?" He asked finally.

"Well obviously when Yori hit the ground I was knocked out of her body," Amu said casually.

"What do you mean 'knocked out of her body?" Ikuto asked. Amu sighed.

"Well I guess then both of us have some explaining to do," she said quietly. "You want to start or do you want me to star?"

Ikuto motioned for her to start. Amu nodded.

"Well, it all starts when we were playing hide and seek six years ago. I decided to hide in that chest , only I forgot to keep the lock open. So, since I had no way of getting out because of the fire... it _was _a fire right? So then I was stuck in there suffocating," Amu explained as Ikuto sat down on the couch next to her. "So, obviously, I died. And for some reason, I didn't go anywhere. I didn't exactly get into heaven or hell for some reason. So, I ended up floating around on Earth. I thought that since I was dead, I might as well go travel around and visit all the places I never had the chance to go to. First place on my list was America. So, while hanging around in America, I found this girl. She looked the exact same as me, and I think she's around the same age too. Guess who she was?" Yori. And normally, people aren't able to see me. I think you and Yori are one of the few exceptions that can. Yori saw me, and she stared, like you are right now. She wasn't looking at anything else around her, so she didn't notice that there was a fast car coming towards her. She was hit, and for some reason, after she was hit, I got transported into her body. So, now that I had a solid body to work with, I got on a plane, came back to Japan, and found you. Any questions?"

Ikuto stared at her for a minute, shocked.

"So it was _you _who pushed Yori off the building?" He asked quietly. Amu's face darkened as soon as he mentioned Yori, and didn't answer. All of a sudden, it hit him

_So that's why Yori's been acting so strange lately. It was Amu... was she trying to kill Yori? So Amu, the Amu that I fell in love with, the Amu that died six year ago... has now returned. _

"Were you possessing Yori all this time?" Ikuto asked again. Amu jumped up.

"What do you know about me?" She demanded. "Do you know that I died in vain?! You didn't come back to look for me. I was waiting for you until my very last breath! But, you didn't come!"  
Amu picked up various items from the table next to the couch and began throwing them on the ground.

"And now I see that you found someone else that looks exactly like me!" She continued. "I hate her. I HATE HER! I want her dead. I want her to die, painfully, right here and now! I want-"

"But the one I really loved was you!" Ikuto interrupted her screaming. Amu shut up, and Ikuto put his arms around her, pulling her closer to him.

"I was never able to forget about you even for a day." He said quietly. "I only let her be my girlfriend because she was like a little reminder of you, and her being my girlfriend meant I could keep her close to me most of the time. She could have been the version of you that was alive for me."

Amu returned the hug, and the two of them stayed like that until Ikuto realized something.

"Amu, you're a ghost." He commented. "Why can I touch you?"

Amu laughed.

"Baka," she replied. "You've watched one too many ghost movies, haven't you? Sure, everyone can feel me. It's just that most people can't tell what hit them if I touch them, since they can't see me after all."

Ikuto was beyond happy.

"So, that means that you can stay here forever, right? Just me, Yori, and maybe a couple others can be able to see you right?" Ikuto went on excitedly. Amu frowned.

"There's just one problem with that," she said, causing Ikuto's smile to fade away. "Yori's in a coma right now. But, the moment that Yori wakes up, it'll be time for me to leave this world. For good."

Ikuto backed away, eyes wide.

"So... you're going to leave me again!?" He asked frantically. Amu nodded her head sadly. But, she instantly brightened and grabbed his arm.

"But, while I'm here we should make the most of the time," she said cheerfully. Ikuto still didn't look convinced.

"Plus, we can always hit Yori on the head to keep her knocked out for a little longer," she joked. Finally, Ikuto couldn't stand it. He busted out laughing. Amu smiled along with him.

"Now I want to hear what you've been doing." she said. Ikuto straightened up, and began telling her.

"So we were playing hide and seek. And yes, the building did set on fire. Some fire-men found me and everyone else, and we were all led outside to safety. I tried to go in and find you, but they refused to let me back in. They said it was too dangerous," Ikuto said apologetically, and Amu nodded for him to continue. "After you died, my dad promised to buy me back whatever I wanted that was lost in the fire. Since, I couldn't buy you back, that offer was pretty much pointless. However, I did manage to get a memorial built for you. It was nothing big, since I didn't want to spend too much of my dad's money, even though he promised he would get it no matter the price. I didn't want to make thinks harder for him. So, every day, I would go visit that little memorial once a month, more if I had time, and go drop of flowers. One day, Kukai decided to go with me, and while we were there, he yelled at me to become normal like I was before you were gone. I didn't really realize that I was acting differently since you died, but I probably was acting strange. So then I tried to be normal for Kukai. A few days later, Yori came to our school. I found it sort of scary that she looked that close to you. She tried to become friends with me, and naturally, I let her. Then she admitted that she liked me, so she became my girlfriend. On one of our dates, you made her jump off a building. Now we're back where we started." He said. Amu hung her head.

"About that," she whispered. "All those times she was friendly, the whole 'I like you' thing, that was all me saying that. Even so, she really does like you. She just didn't have the courage to say anything. Admitting it was my job."

Ikuto nodded.

"I figured that much,' he said. "So now what do you want to do?"

"I sort of want to go see that memorial of mine..." Amu said shyly, blushing. Ikuto smiled at her.

"Then get in the car." He said. "I'm not in the mood for walking, and we can talk in the car without some weirdo staring at me for talking to thin air."  
Amu laughed and followed him to his car.

****  
"What do mean it's NOT SMALL!? It's HUGE!" Amu exclaimed as Ikuto parked the car next to the memorial.

"It's small in my opinion," he said. Amu shook her head.

"So what's big to you, then? A skyscraper?" She asked sarcastically. Ikuto laughed and flopped down on the grass. Amu sat down next to him.

"Hey, do you still sing?" Ikuto asked. Amu shrugged.

"I don't see any reason why not, only I haven't really tried in six years." She said.

"Then try now." Ikuto said. Amu sighed and stood up.

_My friends keep telling me that they think you like me,__  
__and I was thinking somewhat the same thing._

_But what if it wasn't true...__  
__What if I was the only one stupid for thinking that?__  
__With those thoughts in mind I wasn't sure what to do._

_(Everytime I see you) I try so hard to to read your mind__  
__(When I keep lookin at you) I get different signals...__  
__I really just don't know..._

_If you like me then just confront me.__  
__Why are you making it so hard on my part?__  
__If you like me then act brave.__  
__I'm here waiting, so why can't you come? You fool..._

_Til when are you going to just look over at me like that?__  
__Look at my eyes!__  
__They're telling you to come forward._

_While you're still stalling,__  
__if someone else brings up their courage and takes me,__  
__then how regretful do you want to be?_

_(Everytime I see you) I try so hard to show you what I feel__  
__(When I keep looking at you) How come you don't know how I feel?__  
__Don't you have any clue?_

_If you like me then just confront me.__  
__Why are you making it so hard on my part?__  
__If you like me then act brave.__  
__I'm here waiting, so why cant you come? You fool..._

_'Til when are you going to act so stupid (foolish)__  
__Do you want to make me yours or not?__  
__If I keep waiting like this,__  
__I'll get tired and give you up first.__  
__So throw it to me, with confidence, your confession.__  
__I'm giving you plenty of signs right here so wha' you gotta be so scared of? uh~__  
__Stand before me and hottly make your confession~__  
__C'mon gather up your courage!_

_If you like me then just confront me.__  
__Why are you making it so hard on my part?__  
__If you like me then act brave.__  
__I'm here waiting, so why can't you come? You fool..._

[This Fool: Wondergirls]

Amu barely managed to get the last words out of her mouth because Ikuto sat up and pulled her onto the ground with him. The two of them just lay there for a while.

"You know, I wish we could stay like this forever..." Ikuto said finally. He sat up, startling Amu, who quickly wiped the tears from her translucent face.

"Were you crying?" Ikuto asked worriedly.

"Sort of," Amu said, continuing to wipe the tears falling from her golden eyes. "Ikuto... when I'm gone, please treasure Yori. Keep her safe and happy, and live your own life to the fullest."  
Ikuto stared at her incredulously.

"What are you talking about? I thought you wanted her dead." Ikuto said, confused.

"I know..." Amu said looking at the ground. "But, if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be here. And, during this time, here with you, I was finally able to be happy..."

The tears were falling again, and this time Amu made no move to wipe them away. All of a sudden, her eyes widened, and the tears stopped immediately.

"She's waking up..." Amu said quietly.

"What did you say?" Ikuto asked.

"Nothing." Amu said quickly. She grabbed Ikuto and kissed him. Ikuto was shocked by her sudden outburst but began to kiss her back. She pulled away after only a couple of seconds.

"Thank you for all the fun," she said quickly. "Goodbye..."

With that, Amu faded away.

"Amu?!" Ikuto called out frantically, but he got no response.

____________________________________________________________  
eh... every chapter I'm getting less and less reviews. REVIEW.


	6. Fights, Thoughts, and Notes

Thank you sylvanicara, eapl, ShawdowedBlossom, Xylophic, sayari-chan, Hime Cullen Tsukiyomi, MewMarionetta, xxxUtauloverxxx, and LithiumTiger19 for being awesome people that go out of their way to click the review button.

Story writing might slow down because my teachers are killing me with homework because of STAR testing and my mom signed me up for all this volunteer crap :\

And I think that all the characters are going to be major O.O.C. as of now... because it's too hard to work with Ikuto's normal personality for this story D:

Oh, and I posted up the links for the songs that Yori and Amu sang on my profile.

And remember: THIS. BE. A. AMUTO. STORY.

____________________________________________________________________________________

"Amu..." Ikuto continued to murmur quietly, even though he figured it out. Yori woke up, and Amu was now gone. Ikuto didn't even bother going to go see Yori, he just went home and flopped onto the couch.

Ikuto didn't know how much time had passed before he heard a quiet knock on the door.

"It's open," he called out without moving from his position in his living room. In walked Yori, who was looking concerned by something.

"Where were you?" she asked. "You weren't there when I woke up, so I came here, and found you... what happened?"

Ikuto didn't answer. Yori's calm and concerned face suddenly broke into one full of pain and anger.

"It's Amu, isn't it." She said flatly, saying it more like a statement than a question. Ikuto's relaxed looking body suddenly stiffened at the mention of Amu, but other than that Yori got no reaction from him. All of a sudden, Yori walked over to stand in front of Ikuto. She pulled him by the shirt and threw him against a wall.

"Hey what was that-" Ikuto began, but was cut off by a big slap in the face from Yori. (A/N. pwned. O_o)

"What is wrong with you?" Yori demanded, but got no answer once again. "It's Amu, isn't it? Forget about her then. When will you wake up and accept the truth!? She's a ghost and you're a human being! The two of you were never meant to be together, no matter how much you guys claim to love each other. When are you going to realize that!?"

"Wait," Ikuto said. "How do you know that she loved me a lot?"

"When she possessed me," Yori explained, still glaring at him. "She could hear all of my thoughts, and I could hear all of hers. Whenever she wasn't thinking of ways to get me killed she was thinking about how much she missed you."  
Ikuto sighed.

_Ok... I have a feeling that that's not going to help me with my misery much... but at least I now know that Amu cared about me, too..._

Ikuto finally remembered that Yori was still standing there, waiting for an answer from him. He stood up and walked back to the couch to go lay down on it again.  
"I don't know," he finally answered. "I understand what you're trying to say, and you're probably right. Even so, I can't forget Amu. She was my first and only love, and there's nothing you can say or do to change that. Sorry."

Yori took a step back, hurt filling her face.

"So what was I then?" Yori whispered. "If Amu was your only love...then what about me...? I'm nothing?"

Ikuto didn't answer, and Yori let out a hard laugh.

"What am I saying?" She said, smiling hardly. "I should have known that this would happen. You wouldn't love me for who I actually was. You'd love me because I looked like your _precious _Amu-chan, huh? But... why can't you just pick me instead...? I mean, I could change for you... I could become Amu for you..."

Yori didn't wait for an answer. She just stood up and left. Ikuto didn't stop her. He walked into his room and lay on the bed.

***** IKUTO POV**** (A/N. normally I wouldn't do this. I would just put his thoughts in italics... but I don't want the rest of the story in quotes so it's officially Ikuto POV) (You could actually skip this part if you want)

Amu... Hinamori Amu. That one girl that disappeared from my life and even after six years, I still can't get her to out of my mind. I remember that day I first met you. I was only two, and you were just born a couple of weeks before. I remember that I had thought of you as the cutest thing ever, even when we were both so little. Then, as soon as you were old enough to walk, you would follow me everywhere. At first I thought it was nice to have someone following me around, but I found it annoying after a while. Now I regret ever thinking that. I would have you follow me everyday, everywhere, if I could have you back. I never told you how annoying I thought you were... so you just continued following me. We went everywhere together, and soon I got used to you following me. We became friends. Best friends, you could say. And then that day. That day you asked me what I would do if you were gone. I promised you that I would look for you, no matter what the cost. I'm sorry, I didn't keep that promise...

After you died... I was miserable. I couldn't think or care about anything that wasn't about you. I completely didn't care that Utau had a small burn on her leg, or that Kukai and Nagihiko each got a couple of bruises and scratches from bumping into each other on the way down. I didn't care... at all. It had nothing to do with you being missing, so it just didn't register in my mind. I had my dad build that memorial for you. Even though he was totally against the whole idea, I used his promise that he would get me anything for him to build it. I shouldn't have. I didn't keep my promise with you, so I shouldn't make promises for others to keep.

Then, six years later, Yori came along. I'm not going to lie. I never liked her, not one bit. I didn't exactly hate _her_, I hated how much she resembled you. I couldn't bear to see a living reminder of you every day for the rest of that school year. She wanted us to become friends, and I accepted. I have no idea why. I'll just go along with Kukai's idea that I only did it because she reminded me of you.

Yori's mom would constantly tell me that Yori was acting strange, and it bothered her that I didn't notice. I decided to ignore it, since I thought that she was just being paranoid, which was normal for a mom. I didn't realized that she wasn't being paranoid when I saw Yori on the top of the building. The day Yori jumped off the building kind of freaked me out. Before she jumped, she turned around and smiled at me. Only, it wasn't a smile that Yori normally gave me, it was one that you, Amu, normally gave me.

Afterwards, you came back. It's ironic, really. I promised that I would look for you no matter what, and you're the one that comes looking for me. I found out that it was you who was trying to kill Yori, who was possessing her, who was making her admit her feelings for me. I didn't care, though. I was so happy that I could finally see you again. I didn't care that not many people could see you. As long as I could, that was enough for me. But then, you told me that you would be gone once Yori woke up. That crushed my happiness. You tried to make me happy by thinking of all the positive things. I decided to just go along with your plans, even though I wasn't happy. I wouldn't be, until you knew for a fact that we could stay together forever. But, I figured that if you were going to leave again, you might as well leave happy. You wanted to go see your memorial. Naturally, I took you there. We were having a lot of fun there. I asked you to sing again, and you did. Your voice was so beautiful. I remember that when we were little, I would make fun of your voice often. The truth is, I always thought that your voice was the best sounding thing in the world. In the whole universe. If I could only hear one thing for the rest of my life, it would be your voice. After you finished the song, I couldn't help myself. I had to hold you. And hold you was exactly what I did. You felt so relaxed while I was holding you. I would've felt the same way, too, except I couldn't relax. Not with the fact that you were going to leave me again nagging me in the back of my mind. Right before you did leave, you kissed me. Nothing felt better, except it was too quick. Then you disappeared.

Amu... I miss you so much... why did you have to leave me...

(IF YOU SKIPPED, START READING AGAIN HERE)

******NORMAL POV*****  
Ikuto heard a crash outside of his room. Startled, he jumped up and went to go see what the noise was about. He saw that one of the windows was shattered, and among the broken piece of glass was a small white envelope. Ikuto opened it, and saw a letter, written in Amu's handwriting.

_Ikuto..._

_Keep living your life happily. I _know _I'll be back. Trust me._

_Oh.. and by the way... if you really thought I was annoying following you around, you should have said something. The only reason I followed you around was because I thought you wanted me to. It was annoying to follow you everywhere, so I would have happily stopped if you said something_

_~Amu_

Ikuto clutched the letter in his hand and dropped onto the ground on his knees. He didn't care that all the broken glass under him was cutting into his leg. He stayed there.

_Amu... you're coming back...? Come back soon..._

________________________________________________________________________________

I learned that to get a lot of reviews... I have to ask here. REVIEW. Oh, and sorry if this one sucked crap. This one really did suck compared to the others. But, it's really hot outside... and I'm being fried to death since my brother was playing around with the A.C, and guess what? HE FUCKING BROKE IT. So, I'm sitting here in high 90's weather, with a broken A.C. The A.C guy said he won't have time to come fix it for another week or so... so time to die in the head for another week.

Oh yeah... LOOKING FOR O.C'S i need a couple fangirls for Ikuto, a doctor, possibly a nurse, and Kami-sama (I have no idea how he/she's supposed to look).

Listening to: Wasted- Carrie Underwood


	7. Second Appearance

Thank you xxxUtauloverxxx, Yuuki, ShadowedBlossom, Hime Cullen Tsukiyomi, LithiumTiger19, and MewMarionetta for reviewing. And thank you Hime Cullen Tsukiyomi, LithiumTiger19, and MewMarionetta for offering O.C's. Though, I'm only using LithiumTiger19's O.C.'s in this chapter. The rest are going to be in upcoming chapters =)

______________________________________________________________________________________________

_5 years later_

Ikuto's violin song drifted to it's final note, and the crowd exploded into applauses. Ikuto took up the violin recently after Amu disappeared for the second time. Ikuto learned that the violin was something that was probably _meant _for him; since in only four and a half years, he became one of the best violin players in existence. Even though the world he lived in practically worshiped pop and rock music, they would all take the time to go listen to his famous violin skills at one of his concerts. Ikuto would've enjoyed all the attention he was getting now, except for that nagging feeling in the back of his mind. He was doing this all for Amu. _"Live you own life to the fullest..." _She had said. And 'living his life to the fullest' was exactly what he was doing right now. Ikuto was so deep into his own thoughts he didn't notice two fang-girls climbing up onto the stage, desperate for a chance to get closer to him. Frantically, Ikuto looked around for his guards. They were no where to be seen.

_That's right..._ _I decided to let them have the day off... shit._

Ikuto just stared in horror as the two fan girls ran towards him.

"Ikuto-sama!" One of them yelled. "My name is Rai Konoku! You don't know me, but we're going to be MARRIED one day!"

The other girl shoved Rai to the ground.

"Nuh-uh!" She screamed. She turned back to Ikuto.

"I'm Itami Kurosami, and I'M going to marry you one day!" She squealed.

Ikuto rolled his eyes in disgust while slowly backing away from the pair. Rai got up from the ground.

"Itami-chan," she said. "I know we've been best friends for AGES, and we've never fought about anything, but this is one thing that I'm going to prove you wrong about. I'M going to marry Ikuto-sama, and there's nothing you can do to stop me!"

Itami glared at her, and the two of them ran over and attempted to glomp Ikuto, who was sneakily trying to escape through the back door of the concert building. Unfortunately, the two girls noticed him.

"Ikuto!" The two of them squealed, following him out. Ikuto broke out into a full run, with Itami and Rai following him closely. The streets were empty since it was late at night, which made it easier for Itami and Rai to spot Ikuto. After about an hour of chasing, Ikuto finally managed to lose them by running into a dark alley and hiding behind the dumpster.

"Stupid Itami...and... stupid Rai..." Ikuto muttered under his breath.

"Who are Iktami and Rai?" A familiar voice asked. Ikuto jumped up in shock at its familiarity. He saw a girl with bright pink hair and golden eyes crouched on the ground, staring straight at him.

"Yori!?" He exclaimed. The girl shook her head and sighed.

"Honestly," she said, frustrated. "I thought that you would be able to tell the difference by now. I'm the one stuck in the Seiyo uniform, and Yori's the one that can wear, well... anything else."

Ikuto eyes widened in happiness.

"Amu..." He breathed. Amu smiled and allowed Ikuto to pull her into a tight embrace.

"I can tell you've missed me," Amu said as coherently as she could with her face pressed against Ikuto's shirt. Ikuto only tightened his arms around her.

"I missed you more than anything in the world," he whispered. Ikuto removed his arms from around Amu and took a couple steps back to get a better look at her. Almost instantly, a cloud of confusion covered his face.

"Amu..." he asked. "I thought you were ghost..."

Amu looked just as confused as Ikuto.

"I am..." She said. "Why..?"  
"Why are you solid?" Ikuto finally managed to say. Amu's confusion disappeared and she laughed.

"I guess I have some explaining to do," she said between giggles. "But it's going to be a long explanation, so do you have a car you can drive while I explain?" Noticing Ikuto's confusion grow, she added, "Yeah... I'm going to have to explain about that, too."

Ikuto led Amu to his car, which was parked a little bit away, hidden from the fan girls. Amu got into the passenger side, and Ikuto climbed into the seat next to her. Ikuto started the car and began to drive aimlessly around.

"So, care to explain?" He asked Amu. Amu sighed and began her explanation.

"So, you know that I went back to heaven after Yori-chan woke up," she began. "During the past 5 years, Kami-sama had me carefully watched, scared that I would escape. So, in those 5 years, I decided to make myself useful. I thought of ways to make sure my next escape would be foolproof, and after five years, I finally managed to do it. In the end, it wasn't that hard. I basically snuck around and no on really noticed. Anyways, back to the topic. Part of my plan was to figure out how to make myself look solid, instead of that gross translucent stuff. Even now, I'm not exactly sure how you do it, but all I do is will myself to become solid again. So, I snuck out, and decided to look for you. I got tired, and fell asleep by the dumpster. Those bitches screaming 'Ikuto-sama' woke me up. Any questions?"

Ikuto parked the car on the side of the road to get a moment to let the whole thing sink in.

"So you _escaped _heaven...just to look for me?" He asked. Amu nodded. "And you can stay solid forever now?"  
Amu shook her head.

"I can do it for long periods at a time," she explained. "But it gets really tiring if I do it too long. And as for how long, I'm not exactly sure. I tried measuring how long once, but I fell asleep and when I woke up I was a ghost again."

Ikuto nodded his head in understanding.

"And why do you have to keep moving?" he asked.

"I might be wrong," Amu said slowly. "But whenever I stay in one place for more than a day or two, I get this feeling that something's _there. _Like, Kami-sama found me or something. If I keep moving around, then I don't get that feeling, since Kami-sama probably can't find me if I keep moving from place to place."

"How about I help you?" Ikuto suggested. "If you promise to stay with me until you get caught or something else happens, then I'll help you hide. I rarely have violin concerts anyways, so I basically have nothing I'm supposed to be doing right now."

Amu's face lit up.

"You'd really do that for me?" She whispered. Ikuto smiled at her.

"Anything for you," he said. Amu grinned. Ikuto continued driving for a while, and the two of them began to ask each other useless questions.

"So, how's the violin working out for you?"  
"How's heaven look like?"

"Is it nice to have fan girls chasing you all the time?"  
"Is Kami-sama really as scary as our parents told us?"  
Ikuto strangely felt more relaxed this time with Amu. Maybe it's because that he knows now that he can control whether Amu has to leave again or not. He just has to think up of places the two of them can go together to hide. After another half hour of trivial questions, Ikuto pulled the car to a stop in front of his house. Amu began to turn translucent again, and her eyes fluttered closed and back to half open again.

"Amu!?" Ikuto asked, concerned. "Are you ok."

Amu smiled at him.

"I'm fine," she tired to assure him, but the words came out as a small sigh instead. "It's just that becoming solid takes a lot of energy if I do it too long..."  
Amu crawled onto Ikuto's seat in the car and fell fast asleep on his lap. Ikuto smiled at the sleeping figure curled up in his lap and listened to her slow breathing for a little bit. About twenty minutes later, Ikuto began to get a numb feeling in his legs. He picked up Amu bridal-style and carried her up to his room in his house. Ikuto set Amu down on the bed and lay down next to her. Ikuto put an arm around her.

"Amu," he said quietly. "I might not have been able to keep my promise of looking for you if you ever went missing, but this time, I _promise_, I'll protect you. No matter what. Because now there's no one that has the power to stop me from keeping you safe with me forever..."  
The last thing Ikuto remembered before falling asleep was pulling Amu closer to him and breathing in the smell of her strawberry-scented hair...

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Review please =3. wow... after sitting on my butt for 3 hours writing this, I feel like going to sleep even though it's only 6:30 here :\ so review since reviewing is my only motivation for continuing this story.

Listening to: Amazing Kiss- BoA


	8. Stupid Parents

You thought this was a chapter, didn't you?

Well it's not. I've got some bad news. I was up late writing chapter eight because I thought everyone else was asleep so no one would bother me about it. But, I didn't know that my dad was still awake. He comes over, and finds me typing up this HUGE word document, and he demands that he reads it. And my parents are the 'I don't want my poor little daughter getting a boyfriend until she's well out of college and at least 20, type. So, you get the rest, don't you...? Good. Basically, here's the problem:

I've been grounded. I can't do anything on the computer for the next two months without my dad knowing exactly what, where, and how long I've been on the internet. That basically knocks out ¾ of my time for fanfictions.

Thankfully, my parents idea of 'watching me' is 'sitting in a chair next to me while I talk to people on facebook until I turn off the damn computer'. And once again, thankfully, my parents are out for about 4 hours on weekdays, and hopefully I can continue staying up late to write. But, my dad deleted the story. Everything. He deleted all of chapter eight and all the stuff I had typed up about ideas for the upcoming chapters. It'll take me a while to get all my thoughts in order again, since... well, I'm just weird like that.

I'll try to get started on chapter eight again as soon as possible, which will hopefully be tomorrow, which probably won't be possible. I'm getting bumped up for math AGAIN. Even though it's practically the end of the school. Originally, let's use this as an example: I'm a first grade taking second grade math. Even though there's no freaking way I'm in first grade. However, my teacher decided to move me up from 'first grade taking second grade' to 'first grade taking third grade'. So, I'm getting really stressed about school again, since I was given the textbook for my new math class in advance, and I totally don't understand ANY of it. I was up until 4 in the morning a couple days ago even trying to understand the first chapter.

In addition to that, there's still STAR testing. They told me that if I don't do extremely well on those, I'll get pulled out of my new math class and bumped back down to where I'm supposed to be. And my parents, being the retarded Asians they are, said that there is no fucking way that they're going to let that happen. So, I'll be suffering from mass stress and the effects of too little sleep as it is without writing. I'll still try to write as much as possible, though.

Sorry for making you guys read this whole rant. There's actually a lot more to the explanation, and I tried to cut out everything that wasn't necessary already, but yet it's still pretty long. I really appreciate you guys; taking the time to read my stories and review them. Except it might be a little bit before my next one comes out... but that doesn't mean I'm freaking discontinuing. There's absolutely no fucking way I'm going to be able to quit writing. I just love it so much.

You know what the irony of all of this is? As you read earlier, my mom is a strong hater of love stories. Yet, I go into her room one night, and find a stack of those old-fashioned romance novels all stacked on her table. And, she was reading them. You don't know how hard it was for me to not yell at my mom for telling me that I can't read love stories, when she was reading about 6 freaking ones right in front of me.

Eh... NOW my rants done. Thanks for reading the whole thing...?


	9. Great Ideas Are Ruined By Blackouts

Thank you sylvanicara, _xShugo_Charax_, ShadowedBlossom, xxxUtauLoverxxx, Xylophic, and LithiumTiger19 for reviewing the actual last chapter. And thank you Xylophic, LIthiumTiger19, Hime Cullen Tsukiyomi, BlueAmuto. Amarath the Immortal, animeluver714, MewMarionetta, Blacknecko22, and ShadowedBlossom for reviewing my rant.

Well, it's Monday. The day my grounding officially starts. I can't write on Wednesdays, since my brother (the fattest tattle-tale in the world) comes home from school before I do, Fridays, because that's when my dad works from home, and weekends, since that's my dad's days to stay home and pig out on the couch watching TV. That only leaves 3 days in total for me to write a week, and I only have an hour for that on those days before my brother comes home and starts being the nosy ass he is. The story will never really be as good as it was planned to be, since now I have to pull those ideas I wrote down from the deep corners in the back of my head. So basically, I'll be lucky to get out a chapter each week.

Honestly, you don't know how hard it is to make it look like you're really into facebook and playing the retarded games there when you're normally writing stories.

Ep. 80 was okay... I liked how Ikuto's shirt was unbuttoned toward the end of the show. *drools at Ikuto's shirt*

____________________________________________________________________________

Amu woke up to find an arm wrapped around her waist and a heavy blanket on top. She tried to sit up to get a better look around her, but the arm around her tightened and pulled her back down onto the bed.

"You're not going anywhere," a voice said. Amu turned around to find Ikuto laying on the bed with his arm wrapped around her. Amu blushed and laid down on the bed with him again. She noticed that even though Ikuto was smiling at her, his eyes were slightly anxious.

"Something bothering you?" She asked. Ikuto shrugged and tried to smile at her.

"Wondering where I'm going to hide you," he answered. "And wondering why you slept for a little over 12 hours."

Amu thought about what he said.

"So _that's _how long I sleep," she said, deep in her own thoughts. "I always wondered how long I sleep after becoming solid again."

Ikuto laughed and pulled her into a hug. All of a sudden, Amu remembered something.

"Oh yeah," she said. "This is to make up for that lousy kiss I gave you before leaving last time."  
With that, she leaned in and gave him a deeper kiss. Ikuto began to kiss her back, and the two of them had a whole make-out session for a while. Afterwards, both of them were gasping for air and Amu's face was bright red. Then, she began to laugh.

"It's funny," she said. "How when I was still human, we barely knew what a kiss was. And now, look at us."  
Ikuto laughed along with her, and pulled her closer to his chest.

"So any ideas on where to go?" Ikuto asked her. Amu thought for a moment.

"We don't have to go very far," she told him. "Actually, I think we can just go to the other side of town, stay there for a little bit, then we can come back here."

Ikuto nodded, and then released his arms from around Amu.

"I'll go shower and then we can go," he said, walking towards the bathroom. Before going into the bathroom, he stopped and turned around.

"Do... you... uh... need to shower too..?" he asked awkwardly. Amu smiled and shook her head.

"You're forgetting that I'm still a ghost," she pointed out. "I couldn't shower even if I tried. I'll wait out here for you and then we can go."

Ikuto nodded and went inside the bathroom. After Amu heard the water turn on, she decided that she would practice her singing for a little bit.

_I think it's all right to go crazy once in a while__  
So I can do whatever I want, hurry up and choose_

_Crazy, turn the lights off and gaze upon me__  
Crazy, stop all the games__  
Slowly, open your eyes and gaze upon me__  
Tonight, I am your Anystar_

_How the hell do I do this, go crazy with this beat?__  
Everyday you can feel me; just leave it up to me_

_Crazy, just listen to the music__  
Crazy, and just go wild__  
Slowly, this is the end for you__  
From this moment, I am your Anystar_

_The lights illuminate, the feet move away, and I slowly walk out__  
With your lips shaking, your eyes blazing, I flow without even knowing how_

_Tonight I can be deep.._

_Crazy, take a deep breath and focus on me__  
Crazy, don't do anything else__  
Slowly, follow the music and get closer__  
Tonight, I am your Anystar_

_Look at me looking at you,__  
Do whatever is in your imagination_

_Oh no my chest feels like bursting__  
You make me feel like crazy_

_Crazy, turn the lights off and gaze upon me__  
Crazy, stop all the games__  
Slowly, open your eyes and gaze upon me__  
Tonight, I am your Anystar_

_Shake your body, stop your body, can't you slowly feel something happening?__  
Yell out, louder, you get addicted to this now_

_The lights illuminate, the feet move away, and I slowly walk out__  
With your lips shaking, your eyes blazing, I flow without even knowing how  
[Anystar: Lee Hyori]_

As Amu was singing the last note, she turned her head. She saw Ikuto standing in the bathroom doorway, his mouth hanging open. Amu quickly slapped her hand over her mout hand stopped singing.

"Sorry!" She said apologetically. "I really do sound that bad, don't I?"

Ikuto shook his head.

"That was actually the best thing I've heard in a long time," he said in awe. Amu blushed, and Ikuto motioned for her to follow him.

"Let's go," he said. Amu followed him into the huge car parked in his driveway.

******

Ikuto parked the car in front of a gas station on the other side of town.

"Now what?" He asked. Amu shrugged.

"We hang around here, I guess," She said. Ikuto got out of the car and headed towards the store by the gas station. Amu turned herself solid and followed him.

"So tell me," Am said. "_Why_ are we in here again?"

"I got hungry," Ikuto said simply. Amu laughed and watched him as he grabbed random foods off of random shelves. After both Ikuto and Amu had their arms full of food, the two of them headed to the counter to pay for all of it. However, once they were in front of the counter, Amu let out a gasp. The cashier heard it and turned around.

"Miss, is there a prob- OH MY GOD," the cashier said in surprise. Ikuto raised an eyebrow at the two girls gaping at each other. Then he got a closer look at the cashier. It was Yori, only her hair was dyed completely brown except for the tips, which were still bright pink.

"Yori!?" Amu and Ikuto said at the same time. Yori nodded slowly.

"What the hell are you guys doing here?" She asked. Ikuto looked at Amu, who was also looking back at him.

"It's a long story," Ikuto said. Yori looked at her watch and shrugged.

"I've got time," she said boredly. "But let's go to my house first."

******

"Ah..." Yori said. "I get it."

Ikuto had just finished explaining the whole thing to her while Amu was trying to think of a way to apologize for everything she did to Yori in the past.

"Yori..." Amu said quietly, causing Ikuto and Yori to jump since she hadn't said anything since they went inside Yori's house. "Are you still mad about... before...?"

Yori thought for a moment, and then shook her head.

"I'm not mad," she said slowly. "Since I would've probably done the same thing if I were you. But, I don't think that I would've made you jump of a building in hopes that you would die a slow, painful death. Besides, it's been five years. I've never been one to hold grudges for that long."

Amu smiled.

"Still, sorry," she apologized. "I was just really pissed that I died before I could tell Ikuto that I loved him."

Amu looked around her and saw Ikuto and Yori both staring at her, shocked. Amu realized what she just said, and slapped her hand over her mouth.

"I did not just say that!" She exclaimed, blushing hard. In fact, she was blushing so hard they would've needed a new shade of red to describe the color of her cheeks. Ikuto smirked and put an arm around her.

"So, Amu," he said teasingly. "You loved me all this time, huh?"

"Okay," Yori cut in. "Enough with all the lovey-dovey stuff. So Amu, you're just going to keep traveling around with Ikuto until Kami-sama finds the two of you?"

Amu frowned.

"When you put it that way," she said. "I feel like I'm being selfish..."

Ikuto pulled Amu closer to him and tightened his arm around her protectively.

"You're not being selfish," he told her. "I _volunteered_ to help hide you, remember? And Kami-sama is _never _going to find you."

Yori watched the two of them, deep in her own thoughts.

"I've got an idea," she said. Ikuto and Amu stopped their conversation, listening intently to what Yori had to say.

"I think me and Amu should-" Yori began, but all of a sudden, the lights began to flicker on and off.

"Yori..." Ikuto said nervously. "Does this always happen?"

Yori shook her head. All of a sudden, Amu screamed, and the lights went out.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Review... and I'll try to find time to write the next chapter soon :O plus this is all hard work for me. I have to be even more careful with everything, and I have to delete all evidence of the chapters once they're uploaded onto fanfictions. My dad said that if he finds any of these 'crap stories', then my laptop gets confiscated :\ now we can't have that happening, can we?

Listening to: 梁山伯与朱丽叶 (Liang Shang Bo yu Zhu Li Ye)- Genie Zhou and Gary Cao


	10. Trade My Happiness for His Happiness

Thank you ShadowedBlossom, LithiumTiger19, sylvanicara, Amarath the Immortal, Hime Cullen Tsukiyomi, shugo shugo, Xylophic, and eapl for reviewing. You guys are the reason I'm still writing this.

This is going so slowly... like I have to write a sentence or two while he isn't looking, upload it onto fanfiction, delete the file, and then continue writing it on fanfiction... on that edit thingy T_T so much more work for me...

It seems like that now that I actually have a set amount of time I can write... I write _a lot _faster... hmm...

* * *

Yori blinked and gasped in shocked. Instead of sitting on her couch, she was sitting on a fluffy white cloud. There was a sky with a beautiful, bright orange sunset glow surrounding her instead of the plain white walls of her living room.

"This isn't my house..." She whispered, confused.

"Of course it isn't," Amu snapped. She was crouched a couple of feet away from Yori. Though Amu's voice was sharp and filled with anger and frustration, her eyes told a different story. They were anxious and filled with fear.

"They found us," Amu whispered barely loud enough for Yori to hear. Then Yori understood.

_Kami-sama... figured it out...? But that doesn't explain why I'm here..._

Yori ran her fingers through her hair nervously. Then, she noticed something.

"My hair.. it's pink again... I thought I dyed it," Yori said, confused. Amu looked equally confused.

"I wouldn't know..." Amu muttered. "I've never dyed my hair before."

"That's because I had the dye undone," a voice behind them said. Amu and Yori turned around and saw a woman sitting on a different cloud. She was in a flowing white dress, and her beautiful black hair hung in ponytails down to her waist.

"Sarella..." Amu whispered. Sarella narrowed her eyes and stood up.

"I don't know which one of you said that," she snapped. "But it's not Sarella. It's _Kami-sama_. I was Sarella when I was on Earth, and now I'm Kami-sama, got it?"

Yori stood up.

"Why'd you bring us here?" She demanded. Sarella sighed.

"Girls with pink hair really _are _stupid..." She said. "I'm here because I've spend the last couple of days hunting for this 'Amu' person. I didn't really try to remember all the details for her, since I thought all I would have to do was look for a small teenager with pink hair. However, that's not the case. I find not one girl with pink hair, but two. And, since I didn't bother remembering anything else about 'Amu', I couldn't tell which one was her. That's for you guys to decide. I don't really care at this point anymore, just one comes with me and the other can go back. Oh, and you." She motioned to Yori. "I undid your dye so I could prove that your hair really was pink."

Yori rolled her eyes.

"I liked my hair brown more..." She muttered under her breath, but Sarella heard and glared at Yori. Amu stood up.

"Kami-sama," she said. "I'm A-"

"No she isn't," Yori interupted. "I am."

Amu raised an eyebrow, then smiled politely at Sarella.

"Can we have a moment?" She asked sweetly. Sarella sighed and nodded. Amu walked over to Yori.

"What are you doing?!" She hissed. Yori shrugged.

"Pretending to be you," She replied. "Got a problem with that?"

Amu hesitated.

"Actually," she said slowly. "Yes, I _do _have a problem with that. I mean, you love Ikuto, too, don't you? I heard it in all of your thoughts back then. If I was back up here with Sarella, then you would have me out of the way, wouldn't you? And now you're willing to give up your _life _for me?!"

Yori thought for a moment.

"You have a point," she said. "But, Ikuto wouldn't be happy with me. I want him happy, and that'll only happen if you're there with him. And, besides, I've come to sort of like you. Like the twin sister I never had. I mean, I know that you made me jump of a building and all that, but still. While you were possessing me, I could feel all of the pain that you felt. All the sadness you felt that you couldn't be with Ikuto, all the loneliness from dying before any of your friends or family members did, _everything._ That helped me learn that you have feelings, too. You weren't just that ignorant bitch that I thought you were at first. You were a lot like me. Sad, lonely..."

Amu felt tears forming in her eyes.

"Don't say that," She said between her tears. "You're making me feel even more guilty for making you jump off that building..."

Yori laughed and pulled Amu into a hug.

"I'm going to make Sarella believe that I'm Amu," she whispered. "And there's nothing you can do to stop me. I'll stop at nothing to make sure Ikuto's happy."

Amu smiled.

"You really do love Ikuto," she said. "In a twisted kind of way..."

Yori grinned sheepishly.

"He's all yours," she said. "All my clothes are yours. I want my furniture given to my parents, my house donated to charity, and my food to go to Ikuto. He bought a hell of a lot of food at the gas station, so I thought he might need it."

Amu's smile grew bigger.

"Thanks..." She whispered.

"Are you two done yet?" Sarella called out impatiently.

"Yup," Yori said. She walked over to Sarella.

"Kami-sama," she said. "I'm Amu. Nice seeing you again."

Sarella raised en eyebrow.

"Funny," she said. "How last time you were here... you weren't this nice... but whatever." She motioned to the real Amu. "I'll send you back right away."

Yori held up a hand.

"Wait a minute," she said. "I'm only going to go willingly if you change my hair back to brown."

Sarella thought for a moment, then snapped her fingers. Yori's hair was instantly brown again. Yori smiled, and Sarella turned back to Amu.

"Just close your eyes," she instructed. "And count to 20. After counting, open your eyes, and you should be back home."

Amu nodded and closed her eyes.

_Thanks Yori... you don't know how much this means to me. I can finally be human again... 1... 2... 3.... 4... 5... 6... 7.... 8... 9... 10... 11... 12.... 13... 14.... 15.... 16.... 17.... 18... 19... 20..._

Amu opened her eyes, and found herself surrounded by blackness.

_Power must still be out..._

All of a sudden, the lights began to flicker again, and soon the lights were fully on again.

"That was interesting..." Amu murmured gratefully. "Interesting in a good way. Now, where are you Ikuto?"

She began to walk around to look for him, but tripped suddenly on something laying on the ground. Amu looked behind her to see what tripped her, and saw a bundle of blue hair. It was Ikuto. Amu crawled back next to him, and noticed that there was a cut on his face, beginning from the top of his head all the way down to his neck. It was a fresh cut, since it was still bleeding. Amu gasped in shock and shook Ikuto.

"Ikuto...?" She said. No response.

"Ikuto!" She called out frantically, tears forming in here eyes again. "Wake up! Wake up... please..."

* * *

Review. NOW. See you on Thursday, since I can't write on tomorrow T_T

Listening to: You'll Be Okay- Varsity


	11. Forever Yours

Thank you for everyone that reviewed (too lazy to name everyone since this is my second time writing this :\ computer froze and it didn't get saved last time)

This be the last chapter... I think. I don't know, I might decide to add another chpater or so to it... and go vote on my poll about what story to do next... and whatever story it is, it'll come out ALOT slower than this. My parents decided to add a new useless yet useful activity to my plate of busy-ness: w3 schooling. I mean, it's not that I don't LIKE it, it's actually really fun. It's the fact that my parents are forcing me to do one part of it everyday, even though it's a 'go at your own pace' kind of thing.

* * *

Ikuto woke up to an annoying beeping sound. He lazily opened one eye, then opened the other one wide in shock. Instead of being in Yori's living room, he was surrounded by white. Plain white. Not even the slightly beige color of Yori's walls. Just white. Ikuto sat up to try to get a better look at what was around him, but a hand pushed him back down, and Ikuto felt his head land on a pillow.

"Don't move," a sweet but worried voice said. "The doctor said you were seriously injured."

Ikuto turned his head in the direction of the voice. Amu was sitting on the edge of the bed he was laying on at the moment, her hands on top of one of his. Ikuto finally realized where he was. He was in a hospital, complete with the bed and a beeping machine hooked up to him.

"I'm... hurt...?" He murmured, confused. Amu nodded and raised one of her hands to trace the scratch on his left cheek.

"Baka, I couldn't even leave you alone for a couple minutes without you almost killing yourself," she said shakily. Ikuto noticed that her eyes were slightly damp and red.

"Were you... crying?" He asked. Amu laughed softly and Ikuto saw some fresh tears spring out of her eyes.

"Of course," she said without hesitation. "You were badly hurt. Now tell me. Exactly what the hell were you doing after the power went out?"

Ikuto thought for a moment.

"I remember I heard you screaming one minute," he said slowly. "And the next moment, you were gone. I thought you fell or something, so I tried to go found you. I don't really know how far I walked around in Yori's house; I just walked in one direction, calling out for you. I must've hit the corner of her fireplace or something, since the last thing I remember was hitting my head on something sharp."

Amu nodded in understanding, then all of a sudden Ikuto remembered something.

"Hey," he said. "Where's Yori anyways?"

Amu's then calm face twisted into something between extreme happiness and extreme sadness.

"Gone," She whispered. "During the blackout, me and Yori were sent to Kami-sama. Yori volunteered to pretend that she was me so that she would go with Kami-sama and I would get to stay here with you..."

Ikuto didn't say anything for a couple of seconds. It took him a while to process everything he just heard into his brain.

"So..." he said after a while. "Yori is in heaven, pretending to be you, and you're here... for good?"

Amu nodded. Ikuto grinned. He pulled Amu into a giant hug.

"So now I can stay this way as long as I want," Ikuto said happily.

"Don't be perverted," Amu muttered into his shirt, causing Ikuto to pull her even closer. Amu secretly enjoyed it.

_I don't know why... but I feel sort of safe when we're like this... I like it..._

"I'm going to miss Yori," Ikuto said. "But it's worth it if it means that you get to stay..."

"Yeah..." Amu replied. "You better be happy. She told me she was doing this for you to be happy."

"Really?" Ikuto asked. Amu nodded. Ikuto rested his head on Amu's, and Amu began to fall asleep in Ikuto's embrace. She jumped slightly when she heard a knock on the door. A woman calmly walked in, but looked slightly surprised at the position Amu and Ikuto were in.

"Was I... interrupting something...?" She asked. Amu quickly pulled herself off of Ikuto and shook her head.

"Doctor Himeka," She acknowledged politely. "When will Ikuto be released?"

Himeka thought for a moment. Then, she walked across the room, and checked Ikuto over.

"Now, apparently," She said. "I just need Ikuto-kun here to sign some forms."

-Skips form signing-

*****

** Outside the Hospital~ Ikuto P.O.V**

Happiness expanded like an explosion inside me- so extreme, so violent that I wasn't sure how I'd survive it.

"... forever," Amu said. That was the only word of what she was saying that I actually heard. I was to busy savoring the fact that she was here for good.

"Forever..." I just repeated, not really having any ideas about how I should've responded to what she was saying. _Forever._ Wonderful way to describe us.

******

**Amu P.O.V**

It feels strange... but in a good way. Being with by your childhood best friend who you actually didn't realize was more than a best friend until it was too late... and then getting a second chance with him again... I like the sound of that.

"Forever," he said. I like that word. Such a beautiful and descriptive word. A word that could mean us. I couldn't speak anymore. I lifted my head and kissed him with a passion that might possibly set the whole city around us on fire.

I wouldn't have noticed.

******

And the two of them continued blissfully into this small but perfect piece of their forever....  
Little did they know that somewhere, farther than the two of them could ever go for a long time, a girl with brown hair and golden eyes was sitting a small yet puffy cloud, watching them with a smile on her face.

* * *

I have decided that there's going to be one more chapter after this =) It'll come out on Monday I hope.

Don't forget to review and vote on my poll about what to do after the last last chapter is uploaded...

And also... you know that swine flu stuff that's been spreading around recently? Yeah... turns out some kid in my school had it... so uh.. if I don't upload on Monday, you can narrow it down to three reasons:

1.) I forgot  
2.) I remembered, but was too lazy to write it  
3.) I'm dead

JK about the last one =) I'm watching the news right now, and they said swine flu can't kill you if you take this medication crap.

And also, two of the sentences towards the end were copied from the Breaking Dawn book by Stephanie Meyer... I was re-reading it, since for my school, you have to pick 5 books and get tested on them to pass English. I was like 'heck. If I have to take a test on a book I pick, might as well do a book I actually like.' So I was half writing this-half reading the book...


	12. Making Amends

Thank you Hime Cullen Tsukiyomi, Ammarath the Immortal, ShadowedBlossom, sylvanicara for reviewing =D

*sniffs* so bored last weekend D:! Have to get used to not writing fanfiction again...

All the testing and whatnot is messing with my head T_T last time it took me 4 hours to write that pathetic chapter when it would've normally taken me half an hour. And it's been making me accidentally show my secret love for Amu-Ikuto cuddle moments ._.

Well anyways, this is no longer the last chapter~ since I decided to just add my ideas for the sequel into this story because... well... this story's kind of short looking o_o

* * *

Amu and Ikuto standing in the doorway of Yori's house, keys in Amu's hand.

"So what exactly did Yori tell you to do?" Ikuto asked.

"Um..." Amu said as she tried to remember. "Clothes go to me. Food goes to you. House to charity and furniture to parents."

"Well," Ikuto said. "Let's get the easy stuff done first. We'll go get the clothes and the food."

Amu nodded, and stuck the key into the keyhole. She turned it, and an audible click was heard. Ikuto opened the door, and the two of them walked inside. Amu raised an eyebrow at a shattered picture frame laying on the ground.

"So," Amu said. "_That's _what you hit your head on..."

Ikuto bent down and examined the broken pieces.

"And to think this little thing ended me up in the hospital," he muttered darkly. Amu bent down and looked at it with him. Underneath all the shattered glass and the broken frame was a small picture. It wasn't a fancy picture; just black and white. It showed Yori sitting in between her parents; all three of their faces shown with smiles.

"They look so happy together," Amu said quietly, playing around with the edges of the picture with her fingers. "It's going to be hard telling her parents about all of this."

"Wait a minute," Ikuto interrupted her. "Why are we going to tell them anyways?"

Amu rolled her eyes.

"Stupid," she said. "We have to, since Yori said she wanted some of her stuff to go to her parents. I mean, it's not like we can just go knock on their door and go 'Hey, your daughter is alive and healthy and wants to give all her furniture to you guys since she doesn't need it anymore!' right?"

"I guess you're right," Ikuto said. "But how are we going to tell them?"

Amu thought for a moment.

"I," she said slowly. "Have no freaking idea."

Ikuto gave Amu a reassuring hug.

"Well think about it," he said encouragingly. "While you're at it, go get the clothes. I want to see you in something other than that uniform for a change."

Amu smiled and blushed lightly. Then, she stood up and went in search of Yori's closet.

******

"So here it is," Amu said to herself after looking through half the rooms in the house. She flicked on the light switch, and jumped back in shock. The room stretched about 40 feet across and 50 feet wide, packed with clothes.

"This," Amu said quietly. "Is. All. MINE?!"

She smiled and ran up to the nearest shelf full of clothes and began pawing through everything. Amu had only tried on about a fourth of the clothes in the closet until she heard a quiet knock on the door.

"Amu!?" a voice said. "You done in there yet? You've been in there for _ages._"

"Oh... um," Amu said after realizing it was Ikuto. "Just a second."

And she dove back into the mountain of clothes looking for something to wear. In the end, she decided on a blue vest, jean shorts, and a pair of matching black boots (pic's on profile). After Amu felt she looked decent, she opened to door to find Ikuto leaning against the wall outside, looking bored. As soon as he saw Amu standing in front of him, however, his bored expression turned into one of shock.

"Ikuto...?" Amu asked. No response. She raised one of her arms and waved it in front of his face. "Ikuto?"

Ikuto jumped and blinked a couple of times.

"Huh...?" He said in a bit of a daze. Amu sighed and shook her head.

"Nothing," she said. "It's just you weren't saying anything so I got a bit worried."

Ikuto shrugged.

"It's just I never thought you would look so good in those clothes," he pointed out. "Anyways, you ready to go yet?"

Amu blushed and nodded, and the two of them headed back to Ikuto's car.

"So," Amu said casually. "Any ideas on how to break the news to Yori's parents?"

Ikuto shook his head, and the two of them got into Ikuto's car.

"You got any ideas?" Ikuto asked.

"Well..." Amu said slowly. "I _could _pretend to be Yori for a-"

"No." Ikuto's answer was firm. "I already had to loose you twice. No way I'm going to just sit here and let it happen a third time."

Amu was quiet for a minute and continued thinking.

"How about," Ikuto suggested. "You write a note forging Yori's handwriting. Write that Yori's going somewhere, only based on the 'circumstances' she can't tell anyone where. Then just write that she wanted her furniture to go to her parents. I'll give them the letter saying I found it in my house."

"That could actually work," Amu said. "I mean, it's basically the truth, isn't it? But, do you have anything I could forge Yori's handwriting off of?"

Ikuto nodded.

"That day she came over to yell at me five years ago," he said, his thoughts wandering to that day in the past. "She forgot this notebook with all these phone numbers in it. I never bothered giving it back, because I had this feeling that it would come of use later, which it has. So, just pull out a couple of letters from here and then and forge them."

"Okay," Amu agreed. "Let's go back to your house, get the book and let me forge it. Then you can go drop it off at Yori's parent's house while I go and give her house to charity."

*****

_Mom and Dad..._

_You don't know how sorry I am for all of this. But, I have to go. Because of the circumstances and the complications, I can't exactly tell you where, and I also would be wrong to ensure you that I'm safe and sound. However, I can assure you that I am happy and satisfied with where I plan to be going, so please don't worry about me...  
I left this note with Ikuto-kun. You remember him, don't you? He took me out on a date once. However, I can't exactly say I feel that way about him anymore. He's more of a best friend to me than a boyfriend. Still, I gave this to him, because it was the only way of getting this note to you without causing a big commotion with you guys. If he does give this to you, please thank him for me. I also told him to help you get all the furniture from my house. It's yours now. I have no use for it where I'm going, and I'm giving everything else I owned away accordingly.  
Remember, don't worry about me, as I knew exactly what I was doing when I decided to leave.  
~Yori_

Amu held up the note as she read it aloud, satisfied with the results. Ikuto sat beside her, nodding with approval. The two of them were curled up on Ikuto's couch back home. Amu attempted copying Yori's handwriting onto the note, making it more authentic. After half an hour and a stack of messed up papers, Amu leaned against Ikuto's chest, admiring her finished sighed.

"Are you _sure_ you don't want me to go with you?" He asked once again. Amu rolled her eyes.

"Ikuto," she said, frustrated. "It's a _charity center_. The most they can do is reject the house. It's not like they're going to kill me or something, right?"

Ikuto wrapped both his arms around Amu and pulled her closer.

"I know," he murmured. "But I just got you back. I don't want to have to see you go again, even if it's just for a little bit."

Amu blushed.

"Fine," she said. "I'll go with you and you can come with me."

Ikuto, looking slightly happier, stood up. Amu did the same, and the two of them headed for Yori's parent's house.

*****

"Ikuto," Amu asked, annoyed. "Are you _sure _you know where you're going?"

The two of them had been driving in circles in the same neighborhood for the past hour. Ikuto nodded.

"All I have to do is find the house I went to to go pick up Yori all those years ago," Ikuto reminded her.

"And which house is that?" Amu asked.

"I'm... not... sure," Ikuto said after thinking. Amu groaned as he made another U-turn and continued down the road once again. As Ikuto slowed the car down to make another turn, Amu heard a tap on her window. She turned and saw a woman looking at her through the window.

"Can I help you guys?" The woman asked politely. "I was looking out my window, and could help but notice that you passed my house at least fifteen times."

"Told you," Amu muttered under her breath, barely loud enough for Ikuto to hear. Ikuto rolled his eyes at her and leaned towards Amu's window.

"Are you Ly-san?" He asked. The woman looked confused, but nodded.

"You were looking for me...?" She said. Ikuto nodded, and pulled Amu's note out of his pocket.

"Your daughter told me to give this to you," he explained as the woman took the note from his hand. She read it, ad tears began to fall from her face. Then, she turned her head back to Ikuto.

"Do you have any idea where she could have gone?" She asked desperately. Ikuto shook his head.

"Sorry," he said apologetically. "But no."

Amu, who's head was turned away from Ly-san, raised an eyebrow at Ikuto.

_He's a real good liar. If I didn't know any better, I would've thought that he was telling the truth._

Ly-san wiped the tears away from her eyes.

"Thanks for bringing this," She said earnestly. "I know it says here that you're supposed to help us carry the furniture, but you don't have to. We can manage on our own. And, I could tell that you were lying about not knowing where Yori-chan went, but I won't question you anymore. I trust Yori and her decisions, and all I hope is that she's happy."

Ikuto nodded, and Amu closed her window as Ly-san walked away, clutching the note in her hand.

"So," Amu said as they were driving away. "I hope you know where the charity building is. I don't feel like sitting in this car for another hour or two again."

Ikuto chuckled and nodded. He leaned over in his chair to give Amu a quick kiss on the forehead, causing her to blush furiously and Ikuto to laugh at her flushed cheeks.

*****  
*Skips over charity part... I didn't really think about what happens there, so just imagine that they went in, the charity accepted the house, and they left*  
*****

"Okay," Ikuto said, starting up the car again. "Time for the last thing to do."

Amu looked at him, bewildered.

"Last?" She repeated. "But I thought we're done.

"Not yet," Ikuto told her. "We still have to let all our friends from when we were little that you're okay."

The confused look on Amu's face only grew even more confused.

"Everyone else..." she whispered. "I completely forgot about them. Guess I was too happy about seeing you again."

Ikuto smiled at her.

"Well," he said. "We still have to introduce you back to everyone. Let's just say that Rima didn't take the news that you were dead very well."

Amu nodded.

"But what if they ask where I was?" she asked.

"I already thought of that," Ikuto said proudly. "We're going to say that you got out of the fire safely. You tried to find us once you were out of the building, but you got lost. While wandering around, you were discovered by a kind couple who took you in. You moved to America with them right after that, hence your disappearance. The couple was killed in a car accident recently, so you came back to try to look for use."

Amu grinned.

"What a well thought out story," She said sarcastically. "but it just might work..."

Ikuto pulled the car to a stop outside a fairly large house.

"This is Kukai's house," he explained. "I told them all to meet here because I have a surprise for them."

Ikuto took Amu's hand and led her toward the front door. Ikuto placed Amu so that no one from inside the house could see her, and then knocked on the door. Kukai answered on the first knock.

"Ikuto!" He said happily. Ikuto saw everyone else crowd around behind Kukai. "So what's the surprise?"

Ikuto smiled at Amu gently, and pulled her into view.

"Remember her?" Ikuto asked everyone. He smirked as the shock on their faces. Tadase was the first one to be able to speak again.

"H-Hina-HINAMORI-SAN!?!" He practically yelled. Amu smiled as she raised a hand to wave at them.

"That's me," she said softly.

* * *

REVEIW PLEASE. God, I'm in such a bad mood today T_T took me two hours to write this because I was so pissed. I got a B in science, meaning I can't show my parents my report card D: Because of the whole asian-failure thing. The part that pisses me off the most was I could've gotten a 4.0, but NO. I had to have a person that's racist against asians for my science teacher T_T So uh... review... it'll make me feel better.


	13. How Could You?

Thank you ShadowedBlossom, Hime Cullen Tsukiyomi, sylvanicara, BlueAmuto, Shugo Shugo, and Xylophic for reviewing.  
Ugh... too tired to really care about how many reviews I have right now...

youtube(dot)com/watch?v=_FrXhUzlDgY&feature=channel_page  
This short little video was my idea for the whole first 10 chapters or so of the story =)

* * *

Rima was the next one to speak.

"Amu...?" She said disbelievingly. "Is that _really _you?"

Amu nodded, and Rima's face lit up. Rima ran over and gave Amu the biggest hug a person as short as her could give. Amu laughed and hugged her back.

"Nice to see you again," Amu said happily. Rima only squeezed her tighter.

"Where have you been?" She demanded. Everyone else except for Ikuto nodded.

"We'd like to know, too," Utau said, and Kukai motioned for all of them to go back into his house. Ikuto took a seat on the couch and couldn't help but smile as he watched Amu talking with everyone again. Although, he did notice that Tadase was staring at her. Staring with more than just the happiness that filled everyone else's eyes. It was different...

Amu laughed and talked with everyone as if she had never been missing for all those years. Rima still had the biggest crush on Nagihiko, who, she didn't know liked Rima back just the same way. Utau took her love of singing to the next level: becoming the idol Hoshina Utau. Kukai still played sports, and Tadase, well, did what he did all those years ago- _nothing_. While Amu was catching up with everyone, she noticed that Tadase wouldn't stop looking at her. At first, it didn't bother her much because everyone was staring at her. But, Tadase's stare was _different. _The way he looked at her was sort of the way Ikuto looked at her.

"Amu-chan," Rima said, her eyes still sparkling from happiness. "Be right back. I have to go to the bathroom."

Amu nodded, and Rima stood up and left. Amu turned around and saw Tadase, who was still staring at her in the same strange way, with Ikuto glaring daggers at him, sitting on the opposite side of the room. Amu stood up from where she was sitting on the ground and sat next to Ikuto. Ikuto immediately wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, his glare not leaving Tadase even once.

"So... uh, Hinamori-san," Tadase said, breaking the silenced tension between him and Ikuto. "Where are you staying now, since you have no idea where your parents are?"

"She's living with _me," _Ikuto said icily, emphasizing on the 'me' a little more than necessary. Tadase's eyes widened, but they were back to normal before Amu could notice. Ikuto, on the other hand, noticed, and his glare became even harder than before, if that was possible. Tadase stood up.

"Erm..." he said hastily. "I have to answer this phone call."

As he was leaving, Amu's face became clouded with confusion, since she didn't notice Tadase's phone ringing or even vibrating. Ikuto just shrugged and rested his head on Amu's shoulder.

*****

Tadase quickly dialed the familiar number on his phone, and impatiently stood there waiting for an answer on the other end.

"This is the De'Morceff's home," a woman on the other end said. "Lulu speakin-"

"Lulu-san," Tadase cut in. "It's me."

There was a silence on the other end.

"Tadase-kun...?" Lulu trailed off. "Why are you calling me all of a sudden? You haven't called me in a long time."

"I've been busy," Tadase replied flatly. "Listen, I need your help. Do you remember Tsukiyomi Ikuto?"

Tadase heard a sharp intake of breath.

"_Him,_" Lulu hissed. "I _hate _him. I would whatever it takes to make him miserable."

That gave Tadase a plan.

"Well," he said. "If you're willing to go _that _far, here's what I want you to do..."

*skips over what he said =)*

Lulu was silent.

"You're serious?" She asked again.

"Yup," Tadase said confidently. "It would definitely hurt him, and then Amu will come running to me. I've got a plan for that, too."

Lulu sighed.

"So you're making me do all of this so you can get a _girlfriend_?" She asked. "And what exactly do _I _get out of all this?"

"Don't worry," Tadase assured her. "You get to see your worst enemy crushed, and, since you're one of my best friends and helped me do this, I'll figure out a way for you to get out of this all together."

"Okay then," Lulu said, finally satisfied with her part of the deal. "I'll help you. But, you _better get _me out of it."

"I will," Tadase said without hesitation. "I should go now, bye."

With that, Tadase hung up and went back into the room where Amu and Ikuto were with everyone else. Rima was back from the bathroom, and she was sitting where Tadase was sitting, talking with Yaya, Utau, Kukai, Kairi, Nagihiko, and Amu, who was still in Ikuto's arms. Ikuto was idly drawing random patterns on Amu's arm with one of his fingers, not really paying attention to anything else that was happening around him. Amu didn't mind Ikuto, although she would occasionally jump when his finger slipped and hit one of her ticklish spots. As Tadase saw how close Amu and Ikuto were and how relaxed they felt around each other, he couldn't help but feel a stab of jealousy.

_Amu... why him...? Why not me...?_

Before going back to join the group, Tadase pulled his phone out again and snapped a quick picture of Ikuto.

*****

Ikuto released his arms from around Amu and stretched.

"We should get going now," he said. Rima pouted and grabbed Amu's arm.

"But you guys just got here," she whined. Ikuto rolled his eyes and looked at the clock.

"Yeah," he said sarcastically. "We just got here. _Four hours_ ago."

Rima still didn't look happy, but she released her grip on Amu's arm with an audible "_Fine..._"

Ikuto smirked, having won the argument, and gently pulled Amu out of Kukai's house and to his car.

*****

Ikuto came out of his bathroom to find Amu already curled up, fast asleep, on his bed. He smiled, and slowly tried to pull himself under the covers and next to Amu without waking her up. With that, he fell asleep, wrapping his arms around Amu...

_Ikuto opened his eyes to find himself standing in front of a petite girl with long brown hair. It was hard to tell her distinct features, since mist was swirling around both of them. The girl turned around, and Ikuto was face-to-face with Yori._

_"Yori...?" He asked disbelievingly. Yori nodded._

_"About Amu," she said desperately. "In case you haven't figured it out yet, I've come to know her as one of my best friends. Please, _please _stay by her side and look after her. Don't ever leave her, or do anything that would maker her leave. Treasure her like you used to when you were little, like you've always wanted to all the time she was gone. If all else goes wrong, make her your _number one _priority."_

_Ikuto looked at Yori, confused._

_"Yeah thanks..." he said. "But why tell me that now? It's not like I'm going to hate her all of a sudden, am I?"_

_Yori shrugged._

_"Don't ask me stuff like that," she said simply. "Because if you do, I'll have absolutely no idea how to answer you. I just felt the urge to warn you about it."_

_Ikuto nodded._

_"I promise," he said without hesitation. Yori smiled, and then vanished._

Ikuto woke up with a start. He looked around at his surroundings, then realized that he was still in his room. Sunlight shone through the wide windows, shining straight on the bed.

"It was all a dream..." he murmured sleepily.

"Yeah that's wonderful," A muffled voice from under him said quickly. "Now can you get off of me? You're pretty heavy, no offense."

Ikuto looked under and found Amu laying there, gasping for air under his weight as she struggled to push him off. Ikuto quickly got off of Amu and helped her sit up.

"Honestly," Amu muttered worriedly. "What happened? Here I am, sleeping normally, and all of a sudden I'm woken up by something _extremely heavy_ on top of me."

Ikuto smirked.

"So you're saying I'm fat?" He asked her. Amu raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe," she said before kicking the sheets off her and walking towards Ikuto's bathroom

"I'll be right back," she called over her shoulder. Ikuto nodded, and then flopped himself back onto the bed. He noticed that the small spot that Amu slept on was still warm, and had a hint of the strawberry-scent of her hair still remained on the bed. Ikuto just lay there for a minute, enjoying it, but was interrupted by a sharp knock on the door. Ikuto stomped downstairs to go answer it, annoyed that his daydream was cut short.

"What do you want- _OH!" _He stopped himself as soon as he noticed his mom standing in his doorway.

"I want to talk to you," she said seriously. Ikuto raised an eyebrow at his mom, motioning for her to continue. She took a deep breath.

"Well," she said. "I noticed that ever since Amu.... _disappeared,_ you haven't shown any interest in girls. So, I thought that I would just set up an arranged marriage for you, since you would probably have no preference."

Ikuto inwardly slapped himself for not telling her about Amu coming back. His mom took notice.

"So," she continued. "I'd like you to meet this _lovely _girl I met while in France. Please meet Lulu De'Morceff!"

Ikuto was face to face with a girl with blond hair that curled up at the tips. She was in a blue dress and her eyes were wide and friendly.

"Hello Ikuto-kun!" She said cheerfully. Ikuto almost winced at the amount of cheer in her tone. It was obviously fake. No one could be that cheerful naturally. Ikuto took one look at Lulu and frowned.

"No," he said flatly.

"Why not?" His mother asked. "I know that you and Lulu have gotten in plenty of fights when you were in the same school, but that was _years _ago. She is actually quite nice now. Or is it because of... _her?!"_

Ikuto's mom raised an accusing finger to point at someone behind Ikuto. Ikuto turned around, to find Amu standing at the foot of the stairs, obviously confused at the whole scene happening in front of her. Ikuto's mom sent a deadly glare in Amu's direction, and marched into Ikuto's house. When she was standing right in front of Amu, Ikuto's mom gave Amu a sharp slap in the face. Within a second, Amu was sprawled on the ground, wincing in pain and clutching her cheek with both hands.

"Mom!" Ikuto called out in shock, sending a worried look in Amu's direction, who was still on the ground and struggling to hold back her tears from the impact of the slap. Ikuto's mom ignored Ikuto and sent another glare towards.

"You bitch," she yelled. "How dare you come back! After you caused my son so much pain, you still come back and make him fall for you again?!"

Amu looked up at her with a dazed expression, though Ikuto could see a thought brewing in her mind.

"Did you know," Ikuto's mother continued. "That after you disappeared, everyone was miserable? Myself included. We all thought you were dead. But, Ikuto was the worst. He locked himself in his room because for some stupid fucked up reason, he blamed himself for you being gone. He wouldn't eat, he wouldn't move, he just stayed in that same position on his bed. For _days_. You do not know how much it took for his father and I to get him out of that stupid room and actually eat _something. _Even after that, he still refused to smile for a _long_ time. You've caused us such misery, and yet you still come back!? Stupid bitch, what's wrong with you?!"

"Mom," Ikuto pleaded. "Stop... it's okay.. really it is."

Ikuto's mom ignored him. Ikuto struggled to see Amu's expression and how she was taking all of this, but her head was facing the ground and her hair was covering her eyes.

_Now I understand why people complain that their moms never SHUT UP. I mean, what she said was the truth, but did she really have to put it like that for Amu to hear?!_

"Sorry," Amu whispered. "Sorry for all the pain I caused you and everyone else. I'll go right now."

With that, Amu stood up and ran out of the house. Ikuto grabbed her arm as she ran by him.

"Don't go," he begged. "Please. She didn't mean any of it, I swear."

Amu turned around, and Ikuto almost jumped back in shock at her face. Her eyes looked dead and haunted, some of the tears from earlier beginning to spill out from her eyes. The bright golden colors form her eyes that Ikuto was looking into just earlier that day was now dull and empty.

"Amu..." Ikuto whispered. Amu pulled her arm out of his grasp.

"You'll be better off without me," Amu muttered darkly. "Be happy."

Amu ran off and disappeared as she turned the corner. Once she was out of sight, Ikuto noticed Lulu was still standing by his door, a small smile still remaining on her face from earlier.

"You can go now," Ikuto said coldly before slamming the door in her face. Ikuto saw his mom, sitting on once of the couches in the corner, a smug look on her face.

"Are you trying to ruin my life?!" He demanded. His mother's smug smile quickly faded into an angered face.

"It was for your own good," she said tonelessly. Ikuto sent one more glare, filled with hate, at his mom before leaving his house to go look for Amu. He didn't notice that in a bush next to his house, two people were crouched behind the bush, smiling proudly as they saw Ikuto run by.

"It worked," the girl said, which turned out to be Lulu. The guy, which was Tadase, returned a smile.

"You're part's done," he said approvingly. "Now for my part."

*****

Tadase walked in to the building and enjoyed the familiarity of the hair salon.

"Excuse me," he said to the woman at the register. "Do you have any wigs that look like _this_"

He pulled out the picture of Ikuto he took the other day. The woman nodded and disappeared into a room in the back. She came back a few minutes later with a wig that looked exactly like Ikuto's hair.

"You mean like this?" The woman asked. Tadase smiled and nodded as he paid for the wig.

*****

Ikuto ran around town, frantically looking for Amu.

_"...or do anything that would maker her leave."_

Yori's words wouldn't stop ringing in his ears.

_Amu... forgive me... I'll do anything to have you back... and I broke another promise. I promised you that I would look after you no matter what... and look what happened._

* * *

REVIEW. I'm trying to get at least 100 reviews by ch 15 =) SO HELP ME GET THERE


	14. Mistakes

Thank you AmutoForever15, Ammarath the Immortal, Mew Mew Kazusa, sylvanicara, XYNDiCATE, ShadowedBlossom, and xxxUtauLoverxxx for reviewing.

Also, thanks to all of you guys who reviewed _at all _during this story =) you guys helped me get to my goal of 100 reviews 3 chapters earlier than I planned. So, thanks~

Also, I found out that if I listen to 2NE1 songs on constant loop while writing.. it helps my writing ._. that was strange. I just felt like sharing that with you guys... except this chapter can totally define my friend's saying: "I think that writer's block has taken a liking to us"

* * *

Amu wandered around town aimlessly. It's been weeks since she left Ikuto, and she really had no plans as to where she was going to go, since she didn't really know the town well enough to figure anything out. After walking for a while, Amu found herself in the park that Ikuto took Yori, or more accurately her, all those years ago. As she walked through the park, she noticed many happy couples together, either playing around or just sitting there, enjoying the time they had together. Every time Amu walked by one of these, she couldn't help but feel a stab of pain and jealousy from inside of her.

_I can't believe... that I caused him that much trouble... I hurt him..._

_But you heard him, _a voice inside her head said. _He said that his mom didn't mean any of it. Just go back to him._

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean that she wasn't telling the truth! I don't want to be that much of a burden," Amu didn't realize she said that aloud until people began to turn their heads and stare at the strange girl talking to herself. Amu blushed and quickly ran off to where no one had heard her outburst. She found an alley that was empty, and slowly made her way to the farthest corner. Just as she was about to sit, she collapsed onto the ground in a fit of coughs.

_See? _The voice said. Amu realized that every time she heard the voice, it sounded closer and closer to Ikuto's worried voice, but she decided to ignore that fact. _If anything, you shouldn't have left in the middle of winter. You've been sleeping outside every night, and you're starting to get sick. Go back to Ikuto so he can take care of you._

_NO. What if I don't _want _Ikuto to take care of me right now? He's already done so much for me.._

Amu, who's coughs had begun to fade away, started coughing again, only twice as worse as last time. She continued until she felt that she could barely breathe anymore, and settled with laying down on the hard concrete of the alley. Amu felt tears coming to her eyes.

"Ikuto..." She murmured. "I miss you so much..."

All of a sudden, Amu heard footsteps from behind her. She turned around, and, through her tear-filled eyes, she saw a figure wearing all black with dark blue hair leaning down towards her.

"Ikuto!" She called out happily, throwing her arms around him and kissing him. He slowly began to kiss back, but something didn't feel right to Amu. Ikuto's kisses were usually sweet and gentle, but this person's were more rough, as if he just won a prize and was savoring it. Amu opened her eyes and found herself looking into bright green eyes instead of dark azure ones. Amu pulled away and pushed herself back in shock.

"You're... you're not Ikuto!" She said. The eyes of the person were somewhat familiar, but the blue hair threw her off whenever she tried to think of who the man was.

"Too late," the person whispered. "The _real _Ikuto already saw you."

He motioned behind him, where the real Ikuto was standing a little way, eyes wide.

"Ikuto..." Amu said quietly, walking towards him and reached her arm out to grab onto his hand. Ikuto pulled his hand out of her reach, and Amu slipped. She grabbed the wall and weakly pulled herself up to look into Ikuto's eyes. Amu saw a mixture of shock, pain, disappointment, anger, sadness, and hurt all swirled into one big depressing emotion in his eyes.

"Ikuto," Amu murmured again, feeling the tears beginning to fall from her eyes again.

"Save it," Ikuto interrupted her. "She was right. You come back and have me take care of you again, just so you can hurt me again. See you around."

With that, Ikuto turned around and ran out of the alley. Amu looked around and noticed the guy from earlier was gone also. Amu leaned against the wall of the alley, tears streaming down her face while she was feeling sorry for herself, until she doubled over in another fit of coughs.

_What... have I done...?_

*****

Ikuto walked around town, not really caring where he was going. He stared at the ground and made sure he didn't make eye contact with anybody, because he was sure that anyone he looked at would be able to notice the tears he's been trying to hold back beginning come out.

_I don't get it. You don't understand how much worrying I've done in the past few weeks. I stopped everything. Everything, to look for you. I'd get up really early every morning and not even go near home until really late, looking for you in every possible place. And when I finally find you, I see you kissing _someone else. _Trust me, when you're me, that basically knocks everything out of you. _

Ikuto replayed those painful moments again in his head for the hundredth time.

_Amu... there was something different about her. Was it just me, or was she a bit paler...? And when she slipped, she seemed to have a hard time getting up again... did.... something happen to her?_

Then it hit him.

_I'm stupid. She. Wasn't. Feeling. Well. That guy... he had blue hair, just like me... could she have mixed us up... was she sick?! I left my little strawberry alone in an alley when she was SICK?! Stupid... stupid... STUPID ME._

Ikuto inwardly slapped himself. He decided to go back to apologize to Amu and take her home with him again.

****

Tadase stopped running and leaned against a tree, panting for breath. Once he was sure he was out of hearing or sight range of Amu or Ikuto, he quickly pulled off the dark blue wig and the green contacts. After making sure that he looked decent enough, he went back to go find Amu.

Tadase found Amu still curled up in the corner of the same alleyway, except she was a bit paler than before. Tadase tried his best to make his expression look shocked, and approached her.

"Hinamori...san?" He asked in his best attempt to sound surprised. Amu looked up in shock, but relaxed once she realized that it was Tadase.

"Tadase-kun," she whispered. Tadase bent down and put an arm around Amu.

"You don't look so good," he commented. "How about you come to stay at my place?"

Amu shook her head.

"I'm fine," she told him. "Really!"

Despite all her protests, Tadase pulled her by the arm and dragged her against her own will.

"You're sick," he said. "You're coming with me."

Amu continued yelling for him to stop, but Tadase ignored her and continued dragging her.

* * *

Review =) Did you know that if you press the 'review' button a cookie will fall from the sky? TRUE STORY.

Don't believe me? Why don't you try it and find out for yourself.


	15. The Person I Love

Thank you Hime Cullen Tsukiyomi, AmutoForever15, XYNDiCATE, xxxUtauLoverxxx, sylvanicara, and Shokora 'N Strawberries for reviewing.  
And XYNDiCATE, sorry for 'lying' ._. here's your cookie.  
*hands cookie*

Ugh... there's this pain in my neck. Like, whenever I tilt or lean my head to the right the right part of my neck starts hurting... any ideas on why or how to make the pain go away...? It really sucks when I have to get used to tilting to my head to the left when my laptop's on the right side of the table D:

* * *

As Ikuto approached the alley, he slowed his pace down as he tried to think of what he would say to Amu. When he finally reached the alleyway, he was surprised to see that Amu was gone. Ikuto looked frantically around for Amu.

"No really, I'm fine!" A voice protested weakly.

"No you're not," a familiar voice said. "Just come with me and I'll make sure you get better."

Ikuto looked across the street and saw Amu, who was being unwillingly pulled by Tadase. Well, it was more Tadase was _dragging _Amu, since Amu looked like she didn't have the strength to really walk anywhere on her own. Amu attempted to pull her arm away but Tadase only tightened his grasp. As Tadase turned around to look at Amu again, he saw Ikuto standing there on the other side of the street. Tadased glared at him and let go of Amu.

"Wait here," he said. "I'm going to get the car."

Ikuto saw Tadase run off into another direction, and took this chance to go get Amu. As soon as Amu turned her head and saw Ikuto running towards her, her face immediately lit up. Ikuto smirked at her and ran across the street towards her. All of a sudden, Amu's face turned into one of horror.

"Ikuto!" She screamed, pointing to something on his right. Ikuto, who was stopped in the middle of the road, looked in the direction Amu was pointing in. He saw a black car speeding straight at him. Ikuto stood there, frozen on the spot. Suddenly, he saw a flash of pink and felt himself being shoved backwards.

_Ow... my head..._

Ikuto attempted to sit up, but felt something on top of his legs. He looked up and saw Amu, who looked like she was carelessly thrown on top of him, laying there, clutching her waist.

"Amu!" Ikuto called out in shock. "What happened?"

He quickly pulled his legs out from under her and placed Amu in his arms. Amu winced at his quick movements.

"Not so fast..." She said, gasping for air as she tightened her arms around her waist. "Think... ribs... are broken... _ow...._"

Ikuto glared at the car stopped in front of them.

"That driver is going to _pay.._" he said threateningly. All of a sudden, the door opened, and Tadase came out of the car.

"Tsukiyomi Ikuto!" He yelled. "Why are you OK?! I thought I- oh my god."

He cut himself short as soon as he saw who Ikuto was holding, and Tadase's face turned from confused to horrified.

"Amu?!" He said. "What happened?"

Ikuto glared at him.

"Well, let's go through this slowly," he said sarcastically. "I was crossing the street, you come at me with a fast car and Amu gets hit. Any questions, oh smart one?"

"Bu-but..." Tadase stuttered. "Amu was way over _there._"

He pointed at where he told Amu to stay. Amu sat up in Ikuto's lap and winced at the pain she felt in her ribs again. Ikuto quickly checked her waist, which was beginning to bruise from the broken ribs, quickly before returning his glare at Tadase.

"Baka," Amu panted. "Tadase, don't be stupid. Common sense should tell you that there was no way I was going to stay there just because you told me to. And besides, no one said I couldn't block a car from killing the person I love."

Both Tadase and Ikuto's eyes widened at what she said.

"Amu..." Ikuto said quietly. Tadase stomped his foot in frustration.

"WHY!?" He screamed. "Ikuto, that car was supposed to hit _you._ And Amu isn't supposed to love _you _anymore! She's supposed to love _me. _You drove her away and I offered to help her!"

Amu stared at Tadase, hate in her eyes.

"And _why _did you want that car to hit Ikuto?" She asked him.

"I figured that if I hit him hard enough," Tadase said. "He would be _dead _by now, which would finally knock some sense into you. You don't love him, you love ME."

Amu coughed and leaned more onto Ikuto, who tightened his arms around her again.

"Let's put it this way," Amu, who's voice was growing softer and weaker by the second, to Tadase. "There is no fucking way I would _ever_ jump in front of a speeding car for you. In other words, I'd do anything _but _love you."

Tadase took a step back in shock. Ikuto grinned at him smugly, but the grin quickly changed back into a glare.

"Why do you want her anyways?" Ikuto asked. "You know I've loved her since we were kids. You barely acknowledged her existence until I found her a couple weeks ago."

Tadase sighed.

"That was _then_," he pointed out. "Now that I've seen her again, I realized that I really have loved her, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get her to love me back."

Ikuto raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah," he said sarcastically. "Almost killing Amu with your car is so _loving._ I'm _so_ jealous about how much love you can give her."

Tadase glared at him, but Ikuto only glared harder at him.

"You're still going to pay for all of this," Ikuto said coldly. Tadase raised an eyebrow at him.

"How?" He asked. "You have no proof that I did this on purpose. I'll just say that it was an accident."

"But you can't," a voice from behind them said. "We heard the whole thing. Tadase turned around and saw two policemen standing behind him.

"When'd you guys get here?" Tadase, Ikuto, and Amu all asked at the same time. The police shook their heads in disappointment at Tadase.

"You should be ashamed at yourself," one of them said disapprovingly. "Trying to pull off something like this when there's a police station right down the road." He pointed at the station, which was clearly visible. "We could hear the whole thing from there."

"Plus," the other police said. "You're now under arrest for attempted murder and attempting to lie to officials. You're coming with us."

Tadase sent one more glare at Ikuto before following the police.

"You're going to pay for this," he spat. Ikuto raised an eyebrow at him.

"Keep believing that," Ikuto suggested. "And maybe you'll realized that that's not exactly possible when you're in jail."

All of a sudden, Ikuto and Amu heard light footsteps behind them. Ikuto turned around and saw a woman in a white uniform running towards them.

"Nadeshiko!" Amu whispered in surprise. Ikuto sent Amu a confused glance.

"Who's that...?" He asked. Nadeshiko kneeled down in front of Ikuto and took Amu, who had managed to begin to fall asleep from exhaustion despite all the pain, from him.

"I'm Nagihiko's little sister," she explained. "We live separate from each other, so maybe you've never seen me before, but I've seen Amu before. Let go of Amu, I'm a nurse."

Ikuto let go of Amu, and Nadeshiko took a quick look over her and frowned.

"Four broken ribs," she reported. "And lots of cuts and bruises. Also a really high fever from a cold. Take her to the hospital and I can get a better look at her."

Ikuto nodded and took Amu back.

"Oh, and," Nadeshiko said. "Do you mind if I get a ride with you guys? I sort of ran here... plus I can help treat some of her cuts on the way there."

Ikuto sent a worried glance at sleeping Amu before standing up. All of a sudden, the police ran back up to them.

"Sorry," he said. "Dropped my wallet."

He took a quick glance at the scene in front of him, then looked over Tadase's car.

"Feel free to take this guy's car," the police said. "It's not that damaged except for some scratches, and Hotori-san will have no use for it in jail."

Nadeshiko nodded at him gratefully and climbed into the backseat of the car after Ikuto laid Amu down on one of the seats. Ikuto got into the front seat, and found that, stupidly, Tadase left his keys in the keyhole. Ikuto started the car, and drove in the direction of the hospital.

_"... the person I love."_

Despite everything going on right now, Ikuto couldn't help but smile as he replayed Amu's words over and over again in his head.

* * *

REVEIW... LIKE NAO. If you need me I'll be doing my six pages of chinese homework due tomorrow D: I only did half of one so far... I'll be up late tonight finishing the other 5 and a half... dang it... REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW.


	16. Gone Again

Thank you sylvanicara, AmutoForever15, Hime Cullen Tsukiyomi, Shokara N' Strawberries, XYNDiCATE, serra1forever, Mew Mew Kazusa, Kaidyn, and LithiumTiger19 for reviewing.  
My goal is to get to a 130 reviews by the end of the story, which is three chapters from now.

Well, there's 18 planned parts so far and I think I might have slipped out to someone I was replying to about what's next by accident ._. stupid me...

Also, this chapter might be strange with _a lot_ of errors... since I'm handwriting this in English class and then typing it up... too lazy to go over and edit. So there might not be much detail in this...

* * *

*Amu POV*

Well, the hospital fixed me up pretty nicely. Although, I do have to admit, all that stuff they used to bandage up my ribs kind of scared me. But it's okay. Ikuto was with me the whole time, so I wasn't nearly half as scared as I would've been without him...

In the end I had four broken ribs, a high fever, and bruises and scratches covering every inch of my body. The hospital let me out early, on the condition that Ikuto would take care of me, which he gladly promised to. I was better in no time.

*****Normal POV*

The day Amu and Ikuto were getting ready to leave the hospital, there was a knock on the door of the room. In walked Ikuto's mom. Ikuto immediately grabbed Amu and pulled her closer to him.

"What do _you _want?" He asked his mom, hate filling his voice. His mom sighed.

"Amu," she said. "I want to apologize to you for saying all that stuff. You don't know how grateful I am that you saved my son from being hit by a car. And I think we kind of got off on a bad start. Do you think we can start over?"

Amu smiled and nodded.

"Sure!" She said cheerfully. Ikuto's mom smiled.

"Oh, and Lulu-chan wants to talk to you guys," she added before leaving. Lulu walked in, looking at the ground.

"Hinamori Amu," She said quietly. "I have some explaining to do."

Amu nodded for Lulu to go on. Lulu looked up and took a deep breath.

"Okay just remember, if anyone asks, I did _not_ tell you this," she begged. Amu nodded. "Tadase planned this whole thing out. The arranged marriage, the car crash, everything. The only reason I'm spilling now is because Tadase said that since his plan failed, he would back down on his part of the deal. He had promised that he would get me out of the arranged marriage if I went along with all this. However, that promise is officially dead (hence the 'dead promise' huh :3). Ikuto-san, I know we didn't get along when we were little, but I would like to ask you to sign these forms. They state that the arranged marriage is officially off and neither of use have to mention this to anyone."

Ikuto nodded and signed the form. Lulu turned back to Amu.

"Amu," Lulu said. "I know that Tadase's probably going to attempt some form of revenge, so if you run into any problems, feel free to ask me for help."

Amu nodded, and Lulu smiled and left. As Amu watched Lulu leave, she felt two arms make their way around her waist.

"Ikuto?" Amu asked.

"Hmm...?" Ikuto responded. Amu sighed.

"This is probably your favorite thing to do, isn't it?" Amu told him. Ikuto smiled.

"Yup," he said. Amu laughed and hit him on the arm lightly.

"Come on," she said. "Let's go home."

****The Next Morning*Back at Ikuto's house*

Amu sleepily wandered around Ikuto's house just in time to see Ikuto walking out of the front door.

"Where you going?" Amu called out. Ikuto turned around and feigned shock.

"You actually thought I was going to let your birthday pass by without getting you anything?" He asked disbelievingly while shaking his head. "What type of person do you think I am?!"

Amu laughed and gave Ikuto a quick hug.

"Well hurry back. It gets boring here after a while," she complained. Ikuto laughed and left, closing the door behind him. Amu wandered into the living room and flopped on the couch.

"Now... what to do..." Amu said to herself as she stared at the ceiling.

****

Ikuto smiled as he closed to door behind him, but that smile immediately faded away. He's been thinking about how to do this ever since he was certain that Amu would be staying. In the end, Ikuto decided to ask her on her birthday.

Ikuto finally reached where he wanted to go and opened the door slowly. Surprisingly, there was no one there except for the people that worked there. One of them spotted Ikuto and quickly walked up to him.

"Sir," he greeted politely. "What can I get you?"

"I'd like to see your engagement rings," Ikuto responded. The worker smiled at Ikuto and showed him all the rings. After thinking, Ikuto bought one. It was white, with a stripe of pink going down the middle and a single diamond square on the top. Ikuto left the store after thanking the worker.

On the way home, Ikuto got a phone call.

"Hello?" He answered. After listening for a couple of seconds, Ikuto's eyes widened in shock.

"You're kidding," he said flatly. The person on the other end spoke.

"So how long till it actually happens?" Ikuto asked anxiously. After hearing the answer, Ikuto stomped his foot in frustration.

"Why?" He said through his teeth. "Why must everything happen to _me?!"_

"It's not happening to _you,"_ the voice on the other end pointed out. Ikuto sighed.

"But still," he said. "I'll feel so bad that I'll probably be better off if it happens to me."

Ikuto sighed again.

"Whatever," he said. "Thanks for telling me."

With that he hung up. Things were going to have to go faster than planned.

*****

Ikuto quietly slipped into the house, hoping to surprise Amu when he got in there. However he heard some screaming upstairs. He ran upstairs to see what was going on.

"Amu?" He called out. No response. That's when he started to panic. Ikuto ran up the stairs and into his and Amu's room. Inside, he found the big window on the left side of the room completely shattered.

"AMU!?" Ikuto called out frantically. He noticed that on the bed there was a small folded up piece of paper.

_Ikuto:_

_If you ever want to see Amu again... wait. What am I doing? You're NEVER going to see her again. You know why? Because she's with me now. And there's nothing you can do about it._

_-Guess who?_

Ikuto crumpled up the paper.

"Tadase," he muttered. Ikuto remembered the phone call he had received earlier.

_"It turns out that Tadase managed to bribe the judge into letting him out early."_

_"How long till it actually happens?"_

_"He was out yesterday."_

*****An hour ago*

_Amu was sitting on the bed she and Ikuto shared, idly playing with one of the loose strands on the blanket. All of a sudden, she heard a window shatter behind her. Amu turned around and saw Tadase jump through the window._

_"Tadase?!" She called out in alarm. Tadase smiled at her and nodded._

_"You remember me?" Tadase asked, obviously happy with the fact. Amu rolled her eyes._

_"Like I would forget the retard that almost killed me with his car," Amu said coldly. "What are you doing here anyways? I thought you were in jail?"_

_Tadase grinned._

_"Amu," he said as if he were speaking to a five year old. "You can do a lot of things with a lot of money."_

_Amu glared at him._

_"That's something I'd believe _you'd _do," Amu said harshly, slowly backing away from Tadase towards the door. Tadase noticed this and slowly walked towards her._

_"W-what are you doing?" Amu asked nervously. Tadase grinned and jumped on top of her. He ended up on top of her, one arm on either side of her so Amu couldn't escape. Amu panicked and began to kick her legs around wildly. Tadase sighed._

_"You leave me no choice," he said simply. Amu stopped kicking immediately._

_"What do you mean?!" She practically yelled. Tadase pulled out a small cloth from his pocket. Amu could smell fumes coming from the small cloth._

_"You wouldn't!" Amu screamed. Tadase looked at her sadly._

_"I wouldn't," he said. "But you wouldn't go willingly. This is for your own good."_

_With that, he pressed the cloth onto her face. Amu could feel the effects of the fumes take place immediately. She saw everything around her already begin to fade into blackness._

_"Ikuto!" She tried to call out repeatedly, but her shouts gradually faded away. After calling out about twice she began to loose consciousness. _

_"Ikuto..." she whispered one last time._

_And then everything went black.

* * *

That took FOREVER. I wrote about half in English class, and the other half took me SEVEN hours D: God. REVIEW._


	17. Another Promise

Thank you Aika, shugo shugo, Hime Cullen Tsukiyomi, XYNDiCATE, xxxUtauloverxxx, and LithiumTiger19 for reviewing.  
6 more reviews till my goal... that means *counts* I need 2 each chapter and the two more after this... unless I decide to add more chapters again ._.

* * *

Ikuto paced around the room anxiously, wondering if there was anyway he could get Amu back. All of a sudden, he remembered what Lulu had said a couple days ago.

_"... if you run into any problems, feel free to ask me for help."_

Ikuto immediately ran to the nearest phone and dialed Lulu's number. He sighed impatiently as he heard the dial tone continue. After about 40 rings Lulu finally picked up.

"Who is it?" She asked, annoyed. "If you don't mind I'm in the middle of-"

"It's Ikuto," Ikuto interrupted. "Tadase has Amu again."

Ikuto heard a gasp on the other end.

"B-but..." Lulu stammered. "He's in _jail_. How'd he manage this."

"He bribed the judge," Ikuto explained. "And you promised to help next time, and next time is happening. So _help._"

Lulu thought for a moment.

"How long was she gone," she asked.

"Don't know," Ikuto answered. "I left her alone in the house and when I came back she was gone."

"Then how do you know it was Tadase?" Lulu asked.

Ikuto sighed.

"There was a broken window and a note from him saying that there was no way I'm going to see Amu again," he said.

"How long were you gone?" Lulu continued questioning Ikuto.

Ikuto tried to remember.

"An hour and a half at tops," he said. Lulu thought some more.

"I think," Lulu said slowly. "That based on how he usually plans, he would've tried getting Amu half an hour after you left. So, that means that he had an hour to hide her. And Tadase sucks at hiding, so he probably just took her to his house."

"And where's that?" Ikuto asked.

"Don't leave your house," Lulu ordered. "I'm coming over to drive you there. You'll probably get lost on the way there."

"You think I suck that badly at driving?" Ikuto asked.

"Yup," Lulu said before the line went dead.

*****

Amu woke up on top of a fluffy bed. She sat up quickly and felt a sharp pain in her head. Amu winced, clutching her head with one hand.

_It's like ever since I came back to Earth, more than half the time spent here was in pain or in a hospital..._

"Ugh..." She muttered to herself as she felt herself subconsciously fall back back onto the bed, beginning to feel the sharp pain slowly fade into a dull but throbbing ache. "Head... hurts..."

"That's one of the side effects of the fumes," a voice called out to her. Amu slowly rolled over on the bed and saw Tadase walking towards her. "But don't forget you're at fault for all of this."

Despite her hurting head (and heart from missing Ikuto), Amu managed to glare at him.

"Yeah," She said sarcastically. "It's _completely _my fault that_ you _knocked me out with some toxic fumes."

"There're not toxic," Tadase corrected her. "They just knock you out for a couple of hours and leaves you with a headache for a little while afterwards."

"Sounds like toxic to me," Amu muttered as she gave up on holding her head and decided to just lay it on the bed. Tadase smiled at this.

"Glad you like the bed," Tadase said cheerfully. "Because we're going to share it."

Amu jumped off the bed extremely quickly.

"WHAT?!" She screamed but then almost immediately sank down onto the ground as the sharper pain returned because of her quick movements. "Ouch..."

Tadase ran over to her and put his arms around her.

"Are you okay?" He asked worriedly. "I might have used a _bit _too much of those fumes..."

Amu shoved Tadase away and settled for resting her head against the wall. Anything but the bed.

"I think you used _way _too much," Amu snapped, slightly wincing. "And don't touch me. I'd rather have this headache then you around."

Tadase laughed.

"I'm surprised," he commented. "You haven't even asked me where you are before you start getting mad at me."

Amu realized that he had a point. Still aware of the pain in her head, she slowly turned herself to get a better look at the room. Everything was white. White bed, white carpet, white walls, white door, white couch, white tables, white chairs, white everything.

"Where _am _I?" She asked, disgusted at the amount of white around her. It reminded her of that hospital Ikuto was in after having that accident in Yori's house.

"You're at my house," Tadase answered, ignoring the slight 'ew...' coming from Amu. "It's quite new actually. I bought it not too long ago, because I remember that when you were little, you said that you always wanted a house that was by a river. And if you look out that window over there, you'll see a river."

Tadase motioned towards a door leading to a balcony. Amu purposely turned her body to face the opposite direction.

"Why am I here anways?" Amu asked quietly.

"Because I want to show you something," Tadase replied. "And that something is that you've been loving the wrong person your whole life. I can be everything Ikuto is, and even more. So, stop loving that guy and realize that I'm the one for you."

Amu ignored him. Tadase sighed.

"You might as well give up on him anyways," Tadase continued. "There's no way that Ikuto's ever going to find you here without any help. And anyone I find that helped him is in a lot of trouble."

Amu decided that this wasn't the best time to mention that Lulu had actually said she would help them. She slowly stood up, placing one hand on the wall to steady herself.

"I'm never, _ever_," She said. "Going to give up on Ikuto. I didn't give up on him when there was that fire when we were little."

Tadase's face darkened.

"Don't," he threatened. "Ever mention that fire to me ever again. You went missing during that, and it was all Ikuto's fault!"

"Shut up!" Amu screamed. "It wasn't his fault! It was _mine_."

_It was... I forgot to keep the chest unlocked._

Tadase smiled at Amu proudly.

"That's so kind of you," he said. "Taking the blame for something that isn't your fault. Very courageous."

"I thought I told you to shut up!" Amu yelled, now leaning her whole body on the wall and even then she could feel herself slowly sliding back onto the ground.

"When are you going to realize it?" Tadase asked again. "It _was_ Ikuto's fault. He was supposed to find us all. If he had found you, we wouldn't have to have gone all that time without seeing you. I'm obviously a better choice since I would've checked the chest first when looking for you."

"That's because I just told you I was in there," Amu muttered. Tadase sighed.

"I guess I'm just going to have to prove it to you," Tadase said.

Tadase went up from behind Amu and picked her up by the waist while resting his head on her shoulder. Amu noticed that his eyes were right at the same level as her mouth and took the opportunity to spit into his eye. Tadase dropped Amu in shock, and she landed on her head. The pain was unbearable. Amu grabbed onto the nearest thing to her, which happened to be one of those flimsy coffee tables, to pull herself back up. Since the table had one leg shorter than the other (bad quality tables) the whole table flipped over on top of her. Amu immediately felt herself be jerked back into the world of blackness as the table landed on her.

"Amu!" Tadase called out as he ran towards her. He found her unconscious under the weight of the table. Tadase sighed and picked her up. He walked over and set her down on the bed. This time, Tadase decided to do more than just watch her as she slept...

*****

"Wow," Ikuto said to Lulu. "You were right. I probably would have gotten lost trying to find Tadase's house."

"Told you," Lulu said as she concentrated on her driving. They had been driving for only half an hour, yet Lulu had sped out miles away from the city, made way too many sharp turns, and once even driving on an unpaved road. Ikuto made a mental note to himself to check whether that was even legal or not. Soon Lulu drove through a neighborhood of large, expensive houses. She pulled the car to a stop in front of one that was completely white.

"This is the one," Lulu said as she watched Ikuto come out. "I'm going to stay in the car. I'm kind of scared to know what Tadase's going to do to me if he finds out I helped you. Go through the back, he always forgets to lock that door."

Ikuto nodded.

"Thanks," he called out as he easily jumped over the fence to the back of the house. Just as Lulu had said, the back door was unlocked; it was even left wide open. Ikuto shook his head sadly at the irresponsibility and walked in. He ran up the stairs and into one of the rooms at the end of the hall. It was the only room with a closed door, so Ikuto assumed that Tadase and Amu were in there. Ikuto slammed the door open and was taken aback at what he saw there. Tadase was sitting on the center on the bed as an unmoving Amu hung limply from his arms. Ikuto saw that Amu's chest was moving a lot less than normal; it was like she was barely breathing. Tadase pulled her closer, his nose was touching hers as he ran his tongue over her lips.

"Did you hurt her?!" Ikuto demanded harshly. Tadase looked up from Amu innocently and pouted.

"Ikuto," Tadase whined. "You're interrupting my fun!"

Ikuto glared at him.

"Give Amu back," he ordered. Tadase refused, so Ikuto ran over to take Amu from him. Tadase pulled Amu away right before Ikuto could grab her. Amu slipped out of Tadase grasp, landing on the floor. She didn't make any movements, so Ikuto figured that she was unconscious. Ikuto turned back to Tadase.

"You do realize," he said. "That technically you're molesting her, and that's illegal."

Tadase grinned.

"You do realize," he replied. "That it's also illegal to bribe a judge into letting you out early, but that didn't stop me, did it?"

Ikuto glared at him, but then heard something move on the ground. Both Tadase and Ikuto looked in the direction of the sound. Amu was beginning to wake up. She blinked sleepily, but then realized something and jumped up.

"My head doesn't hurt anymore!" She exclaimed cheerfully. Amu looked around and saw Ikuto standing there, and her face lit up. Amu turned back to Tadase and stuck her tongue out at him.

"And you said that he would never come," she said smugly. Tadase shrugged, and suddenly grabbed Amu and pulled her closer to him.

"What are you doing?!" Amu and Ikuto yelled at the same time.

"Taking what's mine," Tadase said simply. Amu glared at him.

"For the last time," She screamed. "I. AM. NOT. YOURS."

"She's right," Ikuto said. "Now let her go."

Tadase smiled at Ikuto.

"Make me," he said. Tadase picked Amu up and ran down the stairs and out through the back of the house, Ikuto following closely behind him. Tadase ran through the yard and through an opening in the gate of his backyard. Ikuto didn't know that behind the house was a cliff that sat on top of a river. He continued running after Tadase until he found Tadase standing on the edge of the cliff, smiling at Ikuto.

"You have no where else to go," Ikuto said, smiling slightly. But, the smile faded away as soon as he saw Amu trying to struggle out of Tadase's grip. "And let her go."

Tadase smiled back at Ikuto smugly.

"But you're forgetting," Tadase said. "I can just _accidentally_ jump off this cliff, taking Amu with me."

Amu's face was alarmed.

"You wouldn't!" She screamed, thrashing harder than ever. Tadase only smiled at her and pulled her closer.

"Don't worry," he assured her. "I'm not going to do it if Ikuto here promises not to take you back and let me keep you."

Amu turned her head slowly in Ikuto's direction, scared of his decision. Either way she wouldn't be satisfied. She'd either be with Tadase or she'd be dead. Both were equally dissatisfying.

"Please..." Ikuto whispered. "Don't hurt her. Anything but hurt her."

Tadase's grin grew wider.

"Really?" He asked. "I thought you would've put up a bigger fight than that. I should add more..."

Tadase thought for a moment.

"Ikuto," he said. "I want you to _beg. _Get down on your hands and knees and beg for me not to jump."

Ikuto was silent for a moment, then got down on his knees.

"Ikuto!" Amu screamed. "No!"

"It's the only way," Ikuto whispered. Amu glared at Tadasem, hate and disgust filling her eyes.

"So my only two choices are live with you or die right?" she asked Tadase. Tadase nodded. Amu turned back to Ikuto, tears beginning to fill her eyes.

"Ikuto, I'm sorry!" She cried. With that, she stood on the edge and stomped on the edge. The edge crumpled away, causing both Amu and Tadase to slip.

"Amu!" Ikuto yelled, leaning over the edge and grabbing Amu's arm. Ikuto looked past Amu and saw that Tadase was clinging onto Amu's leg. Tadase's extra weight caused Amu's hand to slowly slip from Ikuto's.

"Amu..." Ikuto said again. Amu smiled up at him.

"I promise I'll come back," Amu said. Ikuto looked at her sadly and hesitated. Promises were never kept when he was involved in one part of the promise.

"Just believe in me," Amu said as if she read Ikuto's mind. Ikuto felt her hand slip even more from his grasp, and now he was barely holding on to the tips of her fingers.

"BELIVE IN ME LIKE I DID IN THAT STUPID HIDE AND SEEK GAME!" Amu screamed.

And her fingers slipped out of his.

* * *

That was fairly easy (and sad I might add) to write. Review =)


	18. Surprises

Thank you LithiumTIger19, xxxUtauloverxxx, Shokara N' Strawberries, shugo shugo, XYNDiCATE, and sylvanicara for reviewing.  
I got to 130 a lot earlier than I expected.. let's make it 145 by the end of the next chapter shall we?

Ah... I'm getting so busy with tests and homework and everything D:! I just finished half my homework and thought I'd take a break to write this... which is the second last chapter. Next time is the ending =)

* * *

A month had passed since Amu and Tadase fell. Ikuto took this time much worse than they were children. Last time, Ikuto was too little to comprehend the word 'death', so he would just tell himself that Amu went somewhere. This time, Ikuto saw her fall with his own eyes, so he really had no way of making himself believe that she was okay.

Of course, that didn't mean that Ikuto didn't try to find her. He hired some people to go search the river. They found Tadase, dead, but Amu was no where to be seen. At least Ikuto could comfort himself with the fact that Tadase wouldn't be around to ruin anyone's life anymore.

****

Ikuto slowly walked out of his house and into a car, where Utau was waiting for him. Utau had told him that he needed to get off his 'depressed-ass' and do something. It also just so happened that a friend of Utau's was opening a new cafe, and she asked Utau for some people that could be temporary waiters. Utau signed Ikuto up, while she was going to sing for the people who showed up. Ikuto couldn't refuse, since even if he did, Utau would come over and attack him for not helping one of her best friends.

When Utau and Ikuto arrived at the cafe, they saw a crowd of people outside and Utau's friend running towards them.

"Thank god you guys are here!" She said. "_A lot_ more people than expected came, and the cafe is packed!."

She threw a notepad and pen at Ikuto.

"Go start taking people's orders," she said as she ran off to her other workers. Ikuto sighed and slowly walked to a table in the far back corner of the cafe. There was only one person sitting at the table, despite it being a table for four, and her face was buried in the menu.

"Miss," Ikuto said dully. "What would you like?"

Ikuto heard a gasp and felt himself being grabbed by the arm. He was pulled onto the chair next to the person, and the person pressed her face into Ikuto's chest.

"I want," she said in a muffled voice. "You to forgive me for taking this long to get back."

Ikuto slowly looked down at the person, scared that he was just imagining the girl. He saw a bundle of pink, and used his hands to lift up the person's head. Ikuto saw himself face to face with Amu, tears sliding down her face.

"Amu!?" He said, shocked. Amu nodded and gave him a kiss. Ikuto pressed her closer to him, deepening the kiss.

"I missed you," Amu said quietly. Ikuto smiled and brushed away some of the pink hair that had fallen in front of Amu's face.

"IKUTO!" Utau shouted. "What are you doing?! You're supposed to be-"

Utau cut herself off once she saw who was in Ikuto's arms.

"Amu?" Utau asked disbelievingly. She took a quick look around her, then turned back at Ikuto and Amu. "Figure out a way to get the two of you out of here. I won't tell."

Amu had a plan. She got down and sat down on the ground. Then she slapped the tile floor, making a loud bang. Everyone including Utau and her friend jumped in shock at the loud noise. They all stared and there was even some murmuring in the crowd. Amu grabbed her ankle and tugged on Ikuto's sleeve.

"Excuse me," She said in her most innocent tone, but Ikuto saw a bit of playfulness in her eyes. "I think I hurt my ankle while tripping. Do you think you can help me get to the doctor's?"

Ikuto inwardly smirked.

"Sure," he said. With that, he picked Amu up bridal style and carried her out of the cafe.

"Utau," he called out. "I'm taking the car."

Ikuto and Amu turned around and saw Utau smiling approvingly at them and nodding. Ikuto smiled back and carried Amu into the car.

"That was smart," Ikuto commented. Amu shrugged.

"It was the first thing I thought of," she said. Ikuto smirked and put Amu on his lap.

"Now," he said. "Mind telling me how come you're still alive?"

Amu shrugged.

"I'm not really sure myself," she said. "All I know is that after I hit the water, I somehow managed to keep my head above the water. Then I somehow, well, _floated_ to somewhere. I'm not sure where, the water was really cold and I fainted towards the end of my 'floating'. I washed up onto the edge of the river or something, and these kind people took me to their house. When I woke up, they told me that I had a fever because of the cold water and I should stay with them until I got better. As much as I wanted to come back, I knew my best bet was to stay with them, since I had no idea where I was. I couldn't call you or anything to let you know I was okay because they were a bunch of farmers in the middle nowhere. The only communication they had with anyone else was the bus that came by once a week. So, after I got better, they gave me 50 dollars to take the bus to places and try to get back here."

Ikuto smiled and kissed Amu again.

"Told you that I'd be back," Amu said. Ikuto shrugged.

"It's just that I broke so many promises to you," he told her. "I wouldn't have been surprised if you didn't want to come back."

A look of confusion flashed across Amu's face.

"Huh...?" She said. Ikuto laughed and ruffled her hair.

"Let's count," Ikuto said. "When we were little I promised you that I would find you no matter what. That's one. Second time was the first time you came back. I promised you that I would treasure Yori and live my life to the fullest. Then the second time you came back I promised you that I would look after and protect you. That's three."

Amu shrugged indifferently.

"Three's not a very big number," she pointed out. "And I don't count the first and the third one as broken promises. You _did _find me, it just involved me having to lie to Kami-sama... that's going to get me later. And you _did _look after me and protect me."

"In my world," Ikuto contradicted. "Three's a big number. And _I _didn't find _you._ _You _found _me. _There's a difference."

Amu pouted.

"Stop..." She whined. "You're making it harder for me to prove you wrong."

Ikuto smirked.

"All the reason to just admit that I'm right," he said. "I broke three promises to you only to get repaid by getting one fulfilled promise from you. Now let's get you home."

*****

Ikuto reached into his pocket and couldn't help but smile with relief. The ring he had bought for Amu all that time ago was still in his pocket. He had never bothered taking it out. He pulled the car to a stop in their garage. Amu was about to get out when Ikuto pulled her back in and onto his lap again.

"Amu?" Ikuto asked.

"Huh...?" Amu replied, confused.

"You probably don't remember because you were too little," Ikuto said quietly. "But once back then, I asked you what you wanted from the person you loved."

Amu thought for a moment.

"I remember you asking that," she said slowly. "But barely."

"You said that you wanted someone that you could trust and rely on," Ikuto told her. "You said that it didn't matter if you two got in fights every now and then, as long as you could always trust the other person to forgive you."

"I never knew your memory was so precise," Amu said, amazed.

"It wasn't something I could really forget..." Ikuto replied. Amu smiled, but said nothing. Ikuto took her silence as encouragement for continuing.

"So," he continued. "I've been thinking, and..."

Ikuto opened the car door on his side and got out, leaving Amu sitting on his seat. Amu finally caught on to a small portion of his idea and kept alert. As Ikuto's voice trailed off, she urged him to go on once again. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath before continuing.

"Amu.....will you marry me?"

There was a moment of silence as Amu tried to take it all in.

"What!?" She jumped up. Noticing her own outburst, she quickly composed herself and sat back down. She didn't know what to think, the four words Ikuto spoke ever so clearly sent her into a state of shock and disbelief all the while her confusion increased. Ikuto observed Amu for a moment to let his words sink in before continuing. All of a sudden, he stood up and shook his head.

"Forget it," he said, disappointed. "I shouldn't have asked you something like that all of a sudden..."

"Wait!" Amu called out and squeezed him into a hug from behind. She then murmured something unintelligible.

"What was that?" Ikuto asked. Amu released her grasp and walked in front of him.

"I said yes!" She said. "I said yes, I'll marry you!"

Ikuto smiled gently and Amu and pulled her in for another kiss.

* * *

In case you haven't noticed... I just took the proposal out of my 'Blinded By Love' fanfic and used it here... totally not in the mood to write a whole new proposal scene... REVEW REVEW REVIEW~~~~


	19. Forever Can't End

Thank you Shokara N' Strawberries, XYNDiCATE, AmutoForever15, sylvanicara, and Yuuki for reviewing.

Eh... this would've come out earlier, but I was too busy crying my eyes out watching some movies ._.

* * *

The sparkling white gown flowed from her waist and performed a revolution in perfection and grace. The many layers of pure snow white materials complimented each other so well that any angle of sunlight would immediately reflect off different spectrums of color, illuminating the room. Beside her, Utau sat in a chair, admiring her beauty and happily thinking about how her brother's happiness would be a definite forever.

"Wow, Amu," Utau commented. "You look so pretty! Just like an Angel."

Utau awed as Amu turned to show Utau a full view of the dress, and, indeed, she did look exactly like an angel. Her silky pink hair was done up, but a few strands were curled and shaped her face just right. Her golden eyes took on a slight special sparkle for the occasion. Only a light brush of dust pink was present on her to bring out the cheekbones and cherry gloss on her small lips. Amu's creamy skin was so flawless that even the makeup artist didn't want to cover up her natural radiance with some artificial products. Utau broke into a broad grin.

"You guys will be so happy together!" She gushed. "I just know it. You two were always meant for each other; even when we were little kids. I don't know what took Ikuto so long to ask.!"

Amu smiled and shook her head knowingly.

"It's because," she told Utau. "There have been some... _incident _that kept putting it off."

Utau glared at the ground. Ikuto had told her along with everyone else about what Tadase did, and none of them could have been happier at the news that he died while falling. Utau quickly wiped the glare off of her face and replaced it with another smile.

"Don't worry Amu!" She said cheerfully. "If Ikuto doesn't treat you nicely, I'll be the first person you can ask to knock some sense into him!"

Amu laughed, and her laughter slowly faded into a content sigh as she let all of this all sink in.

_The thing I've wanted since forever is finally happening..._

Amu heard the piano sounding, and she snapped out of her thoughts. The music playing was an enchanting piece that seemed to draw Amu in. Her heart thumped in her chest as Utau stood up from her seat next to Amu. Amu's life ahead lay just down the aisle.

_This is it... however it may turn out, I will never regret this. Ever._

Amu took a deep breath as she lifted her foot and began the journey down, each step paving a road to everything that may lie ahead.

*****

(This part sucks. I forgot how a wedding vow's supposed to go, so I made it up)

In the name of God, I, Tsukiyomi Ikuto take you, Amu, to be my wife,  
to have and to hold from this day forward,  
for better or worse, for richer or poorer,  
in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish,  
until we are parted by death.  
This is my solemn vow.

In the name of God, I, Hinamori Amu, take you, Ikuto, to be my husband,  
to have and to hold from this day forward,  
for better or worse, for richer or poorer,  
in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish,  
until we are parted by death.  
This is my solemn vow.

I now pronounce you husband and wife.

*****

He took her by the hands and led her up the stairs to his bedroom, helping her with the large gown step by step. When Amu entered the room she had shared with Ikuto her eyes lit up and a smile spread across her face. A small lunge at Ikuto and the right timing of arms, she was able to give Ikuto a hug of appreciation.

"Thank you," she murmured. "For everything. Everything's perfect; it really is..."

She spun around and not wanting to wait for his reaction, softly brushed against his lips with her own. To her surprise, just as she was about to pull back, a set of arms circled themselves around her pulled her in even closer. Not wanting to let her go, he brought himself closer and deepened the kiss, craving for the taste of her. Shocked as Amu was, she slipped her arms around his neck and responded. After a while of doing that, Ikuto and Amu both pulled away for air. Ikuto looked at her adoringly and moved away a few strands of hair off her face before proceeding to lead Amu to the bed. The two of them fell ontop of it with a 'thump'. The two of them gazed into each other's eyes, unblinking, until Ikuto spoke up.

"Amu," He said slowly. "There's something I want to try..."

Amu felt one of the straps holding her dress up slip off of her shoulders and her dress slowly slide down a noticeable bit. Amu finally realized what Ikuto was talking about. Her confused face broke into a smile as she began to unbutton the first couple of buttons on Ikuto's shirt.

"Then," She whispered. "Prove to me that I won't regret this."

Ikuto smirked at her words and actions and wrapped his arms around her again to pulled her closer and start again.. Amu didn't make any move to pull away. She felt so secure in his arms that she never wanted to let go. Of course, her words meant nothing to her. She already knew that there was nothing to regret. She just said it for the sake of saying it.

The more Amu allowed Ikuto to get into it, the more Ikuto wished that they could stay like this forever. He didn't want to leave Amu's side until forever ended. Which would be never. He felt the urge to cherish her; to make her every wish come true.

Little did Ikuto know that Amu's every wish was happening right now. Amu couldn't help but sigh in happiness when she felt Ikuto's hand slowly slide up the cami she had been wearing under her dress as her fingers tangle themselves into his midnight blue hair.

_The 30th of March... our wedding day. I can say it so freely now... Tsukiyomi Ikuto, I love you, and there's nothing you or anyone else can do to make me change my mind to be wed to you. I will never regret my decision, because right now you are here, by my side, and that's all that matters to me. This day will always be special to me, March 30th..._

_the best day of my life.

* * *

_

March 30th is also special to me. It's my birthday that day =)

It was so short... ;~; damn my ability to not write a lot today.

And this is the last chapter. There'll probably be a sequel, but first I want to take a break and try a different plot for a change. As of tomorrow, I'd have been working on the Dead Promise for exactly a month :] that's a long time in my world.

It depends on whether I have time to daydream in school tomrrow whether a new chapter comes out or not. If I get t odaydream in school, I'll use that time to plan out my next story. If not, then I'll have to just plan at home when I could be writing. Anyways, as you know, I can't write on weekends. So, the earliest a story will be come out is on Monday. So be patient :)


End file.
